


Fallen Flowers

by konohafics



Category: Naruto
Genre: Akatsuki!Sakura, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst, Anti-hero Sakura, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Canon Typical Violence, Disillusionment, F/F, Haruno Sakura-centric, Hokage Danzo, Implied/Mentioned Suicide, Non-Explicit Sex, Non-Explicit Sexual Content, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Role Reversal, Role Reversal AU, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 59,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22139596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konohafics/pseuds/konohafics
Summary: “Did you hear? A kunoichi left the village last night.”In which Sakura, grown up in a world riddled with tragedy under Shimura Danzo’s rule, makes a deal with the devil. And her two teammates are the ones to do the chasing.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura/Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura/Karin, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 172
Kudos: 692





	1. one

When Sakura is six months old, the Fourth Hokage's son is murdered.

It is weeks after the Kyuubi attack, when the the village is still reeling from the sudden death of their prized Hokage. The news of the Nine Tails being sealed into a baby, his newborn son, is not missed.

He is suffocated to death in the infirmary by a soft pillow and a harsh hand, with the wails of the other young witnesses filling the walls.

He is laid to rest between his parents, a small corpse of a child far too young to have died. The villagers tend to his grave, despite their hatred, and beg for the Fourth's foregiveness.

*

When she is seven, the Third Hokage dies under sudden and mysterious circumstances.

The Shinobi world mourns his death and Konoha is flooded with mourners and foreign ninjas, offering their condolences and best wishes.

The Hokage seat remains empty as the council searches desperately for his replacement. The Sannin are, of course, their first choices, but none are up to the task. Jiraiya turns it down. Tsunade is unable to be located. And Orochimaru has long since fled the village to continue his "research".

Konoha is filled with capable shinobi, but none came close to Kage level. With time against them, the council makes their decision.

When Sakura is seven, Shimura Danzō is inaugurated as the Fifth Hokage.

*

Danzo wastes no time in changing things to his will. Defunding civilian projects, enforcing harsher Academy training, transferring more shinobi into the Anbu. He tears down everything else to build their military strength.

_The strong survive_ , he says. It makes sense, she supposes, but something about the statement does not settle well for her, in the way her parents gaze anxiously at each other. (She will understand some day.)

Danzo wastes no time in uprooting the Third's work.

He publishes pages upon pages of the Third's failures. Being unable to protect the Fourth's newborn son and letting the Kyuubi die with him. Releasing dangerous missing-nin who should have been executed the moment they were captured. Continuously poor village security. Ignoring Orochimaru's odd behavior and taking no action, even after numerous orphans and homeless civilians went missing. He was aware of Orochimaru's experiments long before he confronted him.

Sakura is smart for her age. The other kids in her class, except for Shikamaru, of course, don't understand the news in the slightest. Just that the Third Hokage had failed all of them. She tells her parents so one night too.

Her mother shakes her head at her, gently placing her glasses on the table where she is working on taxes. "The Third was a good Hokage, Sakura," she says, her tone gentle and patient. "He protected us and loved us all."

She shakes her pink head stubbornly. "He wasn't a good Hokage."

Her mother raises an eyebrow, then slips off her chair, kneeling before her so that they're at eye level. She smiles at her, tucking a small strand of pink behind her ear. "Being the Hokage isn't an easy job, Sakura. It takes a lot of hard decisions, and sometimes, all you can do is your best."

She tilts her head to the side, gazing at her to hear the rest of her words.

"The Third wanted peace and that's what he did," she states in that mother tone that's not to be argued with. Then, she smiles, standing up, and ruffles her hair affectionately. "Don't listen to everything you hear, m'kay?"

Sakura thinks of the Third playing with the kids at the Academy, laughing with them as if he were their own grandfather. The Fifth doesn't seem like the type of person to do that.

She nods. "Okay."

(She is still too impressionable.)

*

When Sakura is ten, she attends her first funeral.

His casket is wide open. His hair is just as messy and his clothes just as pristine as they were in life. Uchiha Sasuke's eyes are closed and his face is relaxed. She would've thought he were sleeping if she hadn't already known the awful truth.

That is the first time she learns the word.

_Suicide._

She knows the story. Everyone does. Two years ago, Sasuke had returned home from the Academy to discover his enter clan slaughtered. His brother's corpse still gripping a bloody sword in his hand. (A murder-suicide.) He was never the same after that.

Three days ago, they found his body in the cemetery, sprawled out and bloody, and leaning upon the headstones of his parents.

Sakura is still too young, still wears her hair in pretty red ribbons— but this is the first time she truly learns grief. Standing over the open casket of her former crush and classmate, crying silent and confused tears.

He is younger than her. He was younger than her. Ten. Ten and his heart had stopped beating by his own accord.

Her mother places a gentle hand on her back and guide her away from his body. Her father takes her hand and they walk to the back of the ground.

Her whole class is there. Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and many more. Faceless civilians and shinobi are there too, even though they had never known him.

Sakura supposes they're there to mourn the death of the last Uchiha, not Sasuke and who he really was.

So many people at his funeral, but none had been there for him when he had needed them. Though, she doubts Sasuke would've have let them, anyways.

(Do people only care when you're dead?)

Her mother wraps her arms around her, pulling her close. Sakura's warm tears bleed into her smooth black dress.

A gentle finger taps on her shoulder.

The pink-haired girl forces her head away from her mother to look at the person. Ino stares at her, cheeks stained with tear marks.

(Sakura has never seen her look so... weak.)

She untangles her arms from around her mother's waist and holds them out to her now former rival. Ino surges forward into her hug and they cry together.

If there was any good on that day at all, it was that they were finally best friends once more.

*

Academy students tend to the village cemetery weekly.

It's a large plot of land and spreads for almost as far as eyes can see. It's a beautiful place, really, with bright green grass and Konoha's warm, yellow sun. Not a bad place to be buried at all.

There is one downside of being buried here, however.

Sakura pauses in scooping up piles of fallen leaves, looking up to stare at the Hokage rock. The cemetery is nearly underneath the mountain. The Hokages' five faces, those of past and present, overlook the graveyard.

The Fifth's is her least favorite.

All of the rock faces are emotionless and stern. They are carved into a mountain side, after all, but some part of Danzo's carved face seems to spread his own chilling energy.

She can count on one hand the amount of times she's seen him. He's not like the Third Hokage, who made frequent public appearances, who tried to connect with every citizen and played with every Academy child like his own. No, the Fifth isn't like the Third at all. He is an elusive Hokage, a hermit, really. Cold and cruel.

His rock face conveys his nature perfectly.

"Whatcha starin' at, big brow?" Ino asks, interrupting her thoughts. She emerges from seemingly no where, dumping leaves and sticks into the trash next to her.

The pink-haired girl jumps a little at her sudden appearance, spooked. The blond just laughs, following her gaze towards the Hokage wall.

"Thinking about becoming the Sixth?" she asks, grinning, hands planted on her hips.

Sakura laughs and scoffs, shoving her. "Of course not."

"You're right," she admits, grinning. "Your forehead would be too big for the hat."

She snickers back at her. "Fuck off, pig."

"Sakura!" Iruka all but cries out. His voice booming loudly despite the distance and all of the students immediately turn to them.

She instantly pales and laughs nervously. "Sorry, sensei."

Iruka sighs, exasperated, or what she thinks is exasperation. She can't really tell to be honest. He's too far away. It's a miracle he heard her at all.

As soon as his head turns from them, Ino falls into a fit of hysterical laughter. "Nice job, loser."

Scowling, Sakura picks up the trash bag and throws it at her friend, who dodges and laughs mockingly at her terrible aim. In the process, some of the trash bag's contents spill across the grass.

"SAKURA!!" Iruka screams, "DETENTION !!"

"Sorry, sorry," she repeats, flushed, embarrassed that she had been caught. Ino cackles mercilessly.

"YOU TOO, INO!"

The blond's head snaps towards him so quickly it's a miracle her neck doesn't snap. "WHAT?"

Sakura throws her head back and cackles at her. Ino scowls, then picks up a banana peal and throws it at her.

Their detention turns out to be just tending to the cemetery after everyone else has left, while Iruka sensei sits not far away, head buried in a lesson plan as he mutters unkindly to himself.

Sakura can't shake the feeling that she's being watched.

She turns her focus away from the Will of Fire statue, the one where all of the Hokage buried, and stares back at the piercing eyes of the Fifth Hokage's carved face. An unpleasant shiver rolls down her back.

"Y'know the Fourth's son?" begins Ino, reorganizing the pile of gifts so that more could be left later.

"Of course, stupid," she answers, rolling her eyes. "The one with the Kyuubi."

"He would've been our age."

She tilts her head to the side, not sure what the other's trying to get at. Obviously his son would've been their age. The attack had occurred when they were babies.

(Her eyes drift to one of the headstones next to the Fourth's.)

She squints. "So?"

Ino just shrugs. She's certainly in a good mood today. Much less pushy than usual. "It's just weird, y'know?"she admits,"We could've been classmates with the Hokage's son."

_Could’ve_ being the key word. (Sakura tries to not think of how he died.)

Her eyes drift back to the Fifth Hokage on the mountain side. She doesn't like him. She'll have to get over her weariness of him soon, though. Next year is her last year at the Academy, then she'll be a genin serving under his command.

Iruka joins the two at the statue, his hand pressing his lesson planner to his side. "Alright, you two can head home now."

The girls quickly bow to their teacher, pay their respects one last time, and flee before Iruka has the chance to change his mind.

They both pause briefly at Sasuke's grave, covered in flowers and other objects their classmates had gifted them that day. Ino takes a flower vase from a nearby headstone and moves it to his. Sakura hisses at her and smacks her on the side. They run out of the cemetery, laughing, chasing after each other and nearly tripping over headstones.

As they pass through the gates, Sakura pauses, glancing over her shoulder in the direction of Sasuke's grave.

Danzo hadn't attended his funeral, even though he was the last of one of Konoha's founding clans. The Third would've. He attended every child and shinobi's funeral, thanking their family for their service or praying with their mournful parents. The only sign that Danzo even knew of the last Uchiha's untimely demise is his signature on a piece of paper, authorizing the demolition of the Uchiha district.

It comes as no surprise that their Hokage cares nothing for the death of their children.

*

Ino grins at her widely, cockily— and God, Sakura has never wanted to punch anyone so badly in that moment. "Are you okay, _scaredy-cat_?”

When she is twelve, Sakura is assigned to Copy Ninja Kakashi's genin team.

It's their first _real_ mission, escorting a bridge builder, a disgruntled man named Tazuna, to the Land of Waves. Though, their luck turns sour quickly. Tazuna had very conveniently forgot to mention the Blood Mist Shinobi on their tails. They had been ambushed and she— she had froze, like the child she is, not the kunoichi she's supposed to be.

Ino, in all her dickish nature, wastes no time in taunting her. Hinata glances nervously between her team, unsure of which conflict to be concerned for. Her face is unnaturally pale and her shoulders are squished up anxiously, hands nervously pressed together to her chest. Sakura almost feels bad for her.

Her own face is almost as flushed as pink as the hair on top of her head. An ugly mix of humiliation and anger stir in her stomach and foul taste stings her mouth.

She doesn't remember what happens next, just that Ino is on the ground, staring up at her with furious eyes. The mocking in her eyes gone. Rage dances within them.

"Sakura, Ino! Please!" Hinata begs but her pleas fall onto deaf ears.

Ino is on her feet in a heartbeat, launching herself at her. The two roll around on the ground in a blur of limbs and colored hair, spitting and punching with words that hurt more than the fists behind them.

Kakashi rips them apart from each other, hanging them both by their collars, like two young and troublesome puppies. Sakura's head is fuzzy with the adrenaline pumping through her veins and iron tinges her mouth as warm blood seeps through her split lip.

Tazuna mutters something about how he's doomed. Ino shoots him a dirty glare.

Kakashi lowers them gently. His hands move from the back of their shirts to their heads. "Why did I think it would be easier with girls?" he asks, mournfully and conks their heads together.

Stars dance in front of her eyes and her forehead head explodes with pain. Then there is a pair of lips on her own. The kiss is clumsy and rough and purely accident. Ino's lips are soft and smooth against her own.

She tastes like honey.

There is a split second, the smallest moment, shorter than a heartbeat, where neither of them move. Where their teeth don't clash and their lips are sealed firmly against each other. Sakura swears she feels Ino's heartbeat echoing just as rapidly as her own. But then Ino bites down on her lip, drawing blood, and they rip themselves apart from each other.

"Bastard," the blond grunts to her, but she's breathing heavily, eyes gazing anywhere but her. Sakura ignores her, humiliated and dizzy.

Hinata is horrified, glancing between them with wide, horrified eyes. Kakashi is indifferent as always, but there is an amused gleam in his eyes. He almost looks like he's about to start laughing. (She can't decide if she wants to die or kill him first.)

When Sakura is twelve, her first kiss is stolen by the same girl who makes her bleed.

*

The mission is a success, but it's almost not worth it.

Haku and Zabuza are dead, laying side by side with smiles on their faces. She knows the image will be burned into the back of her eyela after it's passed.

Her head is dizzy with exhaustion and she sways as she walks. Kakashi places a hand on her back to stop her form falling over.

Watch. All she had been able to do was watch.

Tazuna is rattling on to Inari about naming the bridge after Ino. Tsunami and Kakashi tend to Hinata's wounds, still pulling Haku's needles form her skin.

Her blond teammate senses her eyes and turns to her, smiling tiredly, reassuringly.

All Sakura can feel is rage.

*

She has always been jealous of the blond, an unshakable inferiority that has never wavered with the years. Jealousy of her social nature. Her fearlessness. Her clan background. Her shinobi skills.

Ino is everything she isn't. Battle capable, bold, and strong. A cunning kunoichi from a clan honored for their skills.

Sakura is a civilian child. The only thing that makes her a shinobi is the Will of Fire she hopes to carry someday. In a world where Danzo is Hokage, where clan children are praised above others and the skill of a shinobi, no matter their age, measures their worth, Sakura cannot afford to be a bad kunoichi. She cannot afford to fall behind Ino or Hinata, even if it means working twice as hard and training twice as longer.

So, while she's proud of Ino's progression as her best friend, as her rival, she cannot afford to slip behind.

No matter the cost.

*

She finds shelves upon shelves of books on chakra control. One in particular catches her eye. A small book on how one of the Sannin, Tsunade, used hers.

Now thoroughly interested, she picks up the book and begins to read.

She'll show it to Kakashi sensei tomorrow.

*

Hinata finds her on one of the training grounds, covered in dirt and sweat, and nearly passed out against a fallen tree stump.

"Sakura!" the Hyuuga cries, rushing to her aid. "Are you okay?"

She gathers enough energy to barely nod her head sluggishly. "'M fine."

"You shouldn't train so hard," she persists, pulling her teammate gently to her feet. She pulls one of her arms around her shoulders and begins to guide them out of the grounds.

(She is too exhausted to offer any other words.)

Sakura turns her head to Hinata, who is almost effortlessly carrying her to her house. Her small, warm hands are pressing into her side. Her short, black hair glints in the bright sun and her silvery-purple eyes are focused sharply ahead.

Those eyes, Sakura thinks. She has always wanted those eyes.

Distracted by her staring, she trips. Hinata stumbles, trying to catch her, but their bodies clash together and she fails rather miserably. The pink-haired girl's back has fallen flat on the ground harshly, and the dark-haired girl is above her, warm body pressing innocently into hers.

It takes Sakura a few moments to realize their lips are connected.

(What are the chances?)

It's short, even shorter than the one with Ino. Hinata stumbles off her, face brighter than a tomato, as she rattles squeaky apologizes. Sakura's head is fizzy. She's not sure if it's the excessive training or the kiss that came with it.

Sakura's second kiss is with a girl whose hair is darker than the night and whose heart is just as wide.

*

Her time with Team 7 isn't all that bad, really, especially on days like this.

Kakashi has finally awarded them for their hard work. A large picnic basket lays empty with its contents spewed out between them.

The sun has already long gone down. The sky glitters with a million, illuminated by a strikingly bright moon. The grass is cold against her skin and the wind tussles her pink hair softly. The view from a top of the Hokage rock is most certainly the best one, on top of Konoha and away from the harsh eyes of the Hokage.

Kakashi is fast asleep, laying down with his feet kicked up. His bright orange book covers his face and his chest falls up and down with every small breath.

Ino has now dedicated herself to figuring out what exactly his reading choices are. She keeps attempting to reach out to grab the book off his face, but each time, he jolts suddenly, as if sensing her peeking eyes.

"Ino," Sakura laughs, sitting close to them, but far enough to easily avoid a kunai should Kakashi wake up. Hinata, being the smart one amongst them, is stationed good twenty feet away, watching from a small tree stump.

The blond sticks her tongue out at her. "What, you scared, goody two-shoes?"

She sniffs at the nickname, though, she hardly finds it fitting. She always becomes wrapped up in Ino's antics, wether she wants to or not.

Her grin only widens at her expression and she continues. "What do you think he reads, huh?"

His hand is covering the book cover.

"I bet sensei is a romantic," Hinata pipes up from a distance.

"Kaka-sensei? A romantic?" Sakura repeats, smiling. "Those words don't belong in the same sentence."

Ino's grin is stupidly infectious and it makes hers subconsciously widen. "I bet he's a pervert and—"

Sakura bursts out laughing so loudly and so suddenly that she nearly falls over from the force. Kakashi sits up suddenly, startled. His book falls off his face into his lap. He looks around wildly. "Huh?"

His students fall into an obnoxious round of laughter. He glances around them with an odd expression, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

( _Damn those kids._ )

Yeah, life with Team 7 isn't all that bad.

*

"Konohamaru," she scolds a young academy student, one of the three she had previously been assigned to train with on a genin mission.

He grins down at her from where he's hanging. A rope is tied around his waist, hoisting him up from the Hokage rock. There are colorful and childish doodles covering the five Hokage faces. A bucket of red paint is in his hands.

"Get down here!"

He sticks her tongue out at her, rebellious. "Don't be like that, neechan!"

She aims a shuriken at his rope, cutting it swiftly in half. The young shinobi shrieks, crashing ungracefully and roughly down to the ground. In his fall, he spills the red paint all over himself.

Sakura is flushed with embarrassment at his actions, but also with a sense of satisfaction at his current paint-covered state. She grabs him by the collar, drowning her hand red in the process. She pulls him to his feet and starts dragging him away. He shouts and struggles against her grip, but he is no match.

She glances continuously across her shoulder at the Fifth's face as she walks away, as if Danzo himself could see them.

"Don't be so reckless," she finally tells him. She can't prevent the fear that tinges her voice.

Konohamaru freezes, blinking up at her. He is caught off guard by her lack of anger. He tilts his head at her, curiously, then he smiles widely and mischievously. "Of course! No need to worry about me, Sakura neechan!"

The kunoichi sighs, shoulders slouching with defeat. She dumps him off at his house and walks. Her hand still covered in bright red paint.

*

"Chuunin exams?" Ino repeats, though she heardly her perfectly. Her eyes are sparking with a challenge.

Hinata stutters and she stops twiddling her fingers around to wave them around briefly, face flushed. "Well, it was just— it was just a suggestion—"

"—It's a great idea, Hinata-chan," Sakura agrees, blood pumping with the thought of a widespread competition.

She flushes, then glances to Ino for her approval, who nods. The dark-haired kunoichi sighs with relief, shoulders slumping. "That... that was easier than I thought."

"That's gonna be the easiest thing about it," Kakashi says, but he's looking at the book in his hands rather than them, as usual.

Ino, in true Ino nature, rolls her eyes, but she's grinning still. "Whatever, old man. Just sign us up."

*

The written part of the exam is easy enough, she supposes, as she places her arm in front of her test so that the kid sitting next to her can't peek at her answers. He sends her a dirty look, but she's hardly paying attention to him. One of the onlooking shinobi call him out for cheating, and he's pulled out of the room by an escort of scary-looking shinobis.

What a lousy ninja, she thinks, frowning. Can't even cheat without being caught.

So much for stealth.

She glances around the room, trying to find her teammates. Hinata is sitting in the front, but that's hardly a problem with her Byakugan. Ino is a few rows away from her and currently seems to be passed out, asleep on top of her test. Sakura, of course, knows better. The blond is most likely cheating off of Shikamaru, or any other smart person who had the misfortune of sitting near her.

A piece of drool dribbles out of her mouth and Sakura laughs a little, smiling. She mentally files away the image to make fun of her later.

She observes the room once more, observing its occupant. There's the classmates she already knows: Kiba, Shino, Choji, Neji, Tenten, and the weird bushy-eye browed guy who had just declared his undying love to her. Ino's expression was, of course, priceless.

A prickling at the back of her neck alerts her she's being watched. Sakura turns and makes eye-contact with Kabuto, the nerdy white-haired man, who had failed the exams seven times prior and who had just been showing her and the other rookies his collection of data cards.

Instinctively, she turns away.

There is something in that man's eyes she does not trust.

*

The Forest of Death.

When their pretty but weird instructor, Anko, had been explaining it to them earlier, she had thought the name silly. A name whose bark was tougher than its bite. Now, barely thirty minutes into the exams, she finds it oddly fitting.

Ino looks almost as if she's going to pass out, which Sakura would usually gladly take advantage of. However, seeing that her knees are shaking just as hard, she has no right to speak. Hinata appears no better.

This is different. This is different than the Land of Waves. The sight in front of her sends more fear chilling through her body than Zabuza had.

The snake-like woman croons at them, standing from a top the head of a gigantic purple snack. Her eyes are slit-like and her long tongue flicks back and forth animalistically.

There is something deeply unnerving about her, more than in the way she stares at them like a ravenous predator.

"Aren't you all cute?" she asks, dragging her tongue across her lips and her voice like a hiss. "I could just eat you all up."

The three kunoichi visibly gulp. A strike of fear rings through her whole body and makes her dizzy with nausea.

Hinata is the first to be knocked back into reality. She inhales sharply, then glares up at the woman. "Give... give us our scroll back."

(The scroll didn't matter anymore.)

The woman regards them for a second, like she is looking at a pathetic, unamusing joke. She, of course, ignores Hinata. "You're the Copy Ninja's brats, aren't you?"

Her fist tightens instinctively. Sakura musters up enough courage to glare up at her, seethingly. "And if we are? What's it to you?"

She laughs, toying with them. She decides to indulge them anyways. "Your sensei has something I want."

Ino is still stiff with terror next to her. A part of croons with success. Not as fearless as she may seem. Another part is curling in fear alongside her. Sakura has never seen her so terrified.

"He's not here," she manages.

"I'm aware," her grin is wide and unnatural, inhuman. She licks her lips and the genin can't help but shiver. "Perhaps you can help me."

"Why—" Sakura begins, but her voice breaks off and fear floods into her shaking body. The fear of dying suddenly becomes all too real. Sasuke, Zabuza, and Haku all flash in front of her eyes, like their death is her own. "Why would we help you?"

Her eyes gleam as she speaks. "I can be very persuasive."

The snake lunges at them. Hinata jumps to the side. Sakura shoves herself and Ino out of the path, and they crash to the ground harshly.

She throws kunais, tagged with paper bombs, but they fly past her and explode uselessly.

"Byakugan!"

Hinata rushes towards their defense. The snake turns to the other two girls and slams its tail into her. The force sends her crashing through trees, snapping them in half. She falls to the ground, unmoving.

Sakura screams her name, but the other makes no move to respond, unconscious.

The snake woman barely spares her a glance. "Like flies."

(Who the hell is she?)

While the enemy is distracted, the pink-haired kunoichi shakes Ino's shoulders vigorously. "Ino! Ino!" but her teammate's eyes remain trained and unmoving from the chilling woman. She slaps her harshly, and when she still makes no move, panic floods her body. "Dammit, Ino!"

"I have to say," she grins. "I thought you were all more of a challenge," then lunges.

Sakura closes her eyes.

Her heart stops and jump starts itself a millions times in a second inside her chest. The wind from the sudden movement stings her face and arms like needles a hundred degrees below freezing. The adrenaline pumping through her veins rings through her ears. Her chest is tight like a rubber band is tied around her heart.

She grasps at the corner of her mind, trying, trying to remember. Remember the book. Remember Kakashi's teaching. Remember. Remember!

She plants her feet firmly on the ground. She pulls her fist back, chakra concentrating at her command. Her fist collides with rough scale, just for a second, and she releases it all.

"Shannaro!"

The snake and woman are sent flying apart with the inhuman force. She catches her fall by throwing out her tongue like a rope and pulls herself onto an undestroyed tree branch, expressed shocked. The gigantic snake crashes into the trees behind, snapping them in half and into smitherins with the force. It disappears with a puff of smoke. A Summoning animal.

She places her hands on her knees, panting more from the nerves than the strain, and unconsciously grins.

"S-Sakura?"

She turns to the blond kunoichi, who has finally snapped back into reality. Ino stares at her with wide eyes, knees bruised and still shaking thoroughly.

She can't resist the moment. "What?" Sakura grins, soul screaming with victory. "You hurt, _scaredy cat_?"

Her victory is short-lived.

She freezes when a presence appears behind her.

"Impressive," the woman remarks, licking her lips. She presses a kunai gently to the genin's throat. "I haven't seen strength like that since I encountered my old teammate."

"Teammate?" Ino echoes, watching the kunai posed at her friend's throat.

She grins again. Her joy toying with them never seeming to end. "I'm sure you've heard of her. She's a Sannin, after all."

Sakura's blood turns cold and it's not because of the cold metal pressing against her throat.

Teammate. Sannin. Strength. Tsunade.

It clicks to place in her brain immediately.

Her whole body is consumed with raw terror. No wonder they're no match. No wonder their enemy has done nothing but play with them.

"You're..." she manages, voice shaking. "You're Orochimaru."

"My, my," he tuts, tongue swirling at her soft pink hair. She scrunches her nose and eyes. Gross. Gross. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

Ino's eyes became impossibly wide. "What do you want from Kaka-sensei?"

Orochimaru chuckles into her ear and she shivers. "If I told you, child, you would know."

Her eyes narrow slightly at him.

"I must say, I expected more of a Yamanaka," he says, assessing her amusedly. His grin widens and his eyes trail to Hinata's fallen form. "... and a Hyuuga."

"Hinata," the blond whispers, terrified.

"I suppose it can't be helped."

In a blink of an eye, the presence behind her disappears and Ino is suddenly sprawled out on the ground, unconcious. Red soaking into her pale blond hair.

Sakura stumbles back in horror. Orochimaru kicks Ino's body once, chuckling to himself. He licks the dripping blood off his fingers.

Her nerves can't handle it anymore. Her knees buckle against her weight and she collapses to the ground, gasping in harsh breathes. Is this how she dies?

(Is this where her story ends?)

The Sannin chuckles underneath his breath, drawing closer. His pale hand slip into her hair, stroking the pink locks softly. She shivers and squeezes her eyes shut. (No. No. No...) "Do not worry, child," he croons, his other hand tracing the outline of her rosy cheek. Suddenly, he harshly grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him. "None of you brats are worth killing."

(Let us go... Let us go...)

"In fact," his tongue slips out to lick at his lips, "I think we can help each other."

The genin struggles against his hold, shaking her head against his grasp.

"Why would..." she grunts, "Why would I help.... you..."

He chuckles, tossing her roughly to the ground. Sakura's side collides unkindly with the ground and she grunts painfully. Her head is spinning rapidly.

Orochimaru kneels on the ground in front of her. His grin is as unwavering as it has been the whole time. "Aren't you tired, child? Of all this training coming to nothing? To dedicate your life and to make no gain in return?"

Sakura grasps desperately at grass until she finds the fabric of Ino's clothes. Her legs have become stiff and her head dizzy. Even if she can move, it is hopeless to fight him.

"Such wasted potential," he sighs, mournfully.

(A part of her heart stops. _Potential?_ )

He pauses, then grins just as wide as he had before. "I could help you reach that potential, child... At a service to me, of course...." His tongue slips past his lips, licking them carefully.

Her silence stretches between them and he stares at her with slitted, expecting eyes. Her hesitation is too long.

The Sannin sighs, though it is more for affect than anything. He stands up, stepping his foot and his weight onto her lungs. Stars begin to dance in front of Sakura's eyes.

(Too be beaten so easily? Like a joke that doesn't require even a slimmer of his Sannin power? Is this where her training has brought her?)

He chuckles, lifting his sandal above her head. "Come to me when you're ready," he says, eyes sparkling with madness.

The back of her head smashes into the ground with inhuman force, flying rubble into her hair. The world is rapidly blinking in and out of existence as she stares up at him.

Orochimaru chuckles one last time, "They always do."

The world fades into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P-please bear with me, it gets better, I promise! I already have most of the next chapter written up so it shouldn’t be too long. This pretty much started from me wanting an antagonist!Sakura au or a role reversal with Sasuke. In which Sakura is the one to flee and her teammates are the ones to chase after her. It really only gets darker former here, so if you’re wanting a fluffy story, I’m sorry but this isn’t it :( There’s also a lot of symbolism in this story !!! I don’t really know what else to say?? Thank you for reading !! Comments and kudos are always appreciated :)


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rebellion in the leaf.

When Sakura awakes, it is to a pulsatingly painful headache. She proceeds to immediatey throw up, dirtying her feet and sandals.. By some miraculous miracle, it is Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji's team to find them. Though, their rescue came at the price of a free meal, the three girls hardly cared for it, in that moment, too deeply disturbed with who they had encountered.

The medical-nin tending to her immediately diagnoses her with a concussion and begins to treat it. Sakura's hair is crusty with blood and she is still struggling to breathe. There are bruises on her forehead and chest from where Orochimaru had stepped on her. Sunglasses are settled over the bridge of her nose, which may or may not be broken. In her lap is a bucket that she has already thrown up in at least twice.

She briefly wonders if she happened to have the worst medical-nin around.

A crowd of Anbu attempt to with draw information from her, but she is too dizzy to answer and her memory too confusing to remember. They eventually give up and agree to return later.

When the medic-nin finishes with her, she is significantly less confused, but still undeniably dizzy. Kakashi-sensei awkwardly pats her back as he watches her throw up in her bucket yet again. Her ears are ringing with the force of her headache. For once in her life, it is too hard to think.

She closes her eyes and turns her nose away from the reeking stench. Her breathing is uneven and her hair sticks to her forehead with sweat. "'M sorry, sensei."

Her eyesight is too blurry to see the emotion behind his eye, but she thinks he's not upset? Though, admittedly, she's not sure if anything can make her calm teacher break his facade.

"It's not your fault, Sakura," he says. "Even the Third couldn't stop Orochimaru."

It takes her a few seconds to register his words. She shakes her head, which she immediately regrets and slumps her weight against the disgusting bucket. "We got... dis... qualie..." Everything hurts too much to speak. Her lungs burn with every breath and the taste of vomit is unbearably heavy in her mouth.

"Yes," he admits, pauses, then continues. "But you three are alive. That's more important."

(Do concussions affect people who aren't suffering from them too?)

(Where is another medical-nin? She needs another one, dammit.)

"Besides, everyone's been disqualified."

She jerks her head up towards him, (regrets it), and squints at him. "Huh?"

"The Chuunin exams have been used to attack Konoha before," he explains, talking slowly. "Danzo cancelled them until Orochimaru wasn't deemed a threat anymore."

She grunts, turning away from him and back to her bucket. Even in her shriveled state, she notes that Kakashi doesn't call the Hoakge by his title or his honorifics. Huh, she thinks, smirking down at the contents of her stomach, though it's mostly stomach acid, at this point. When was the last time she's heard someone call him by his name?

"Hinata and Ino are safe," he adds and watches as her shoulders relax slightly with relief. "They're shaken, but they'll be okay."

"Good," she grunts, her words slurring slightly. She motions for him to leave. "Brain hurt. Talk too much. Go."

He raises an eyebrow at her, but gets up as requested, leaving Sakura to her bucket and the profound and confusing feeling that she's still alive.

*

"Kaka-sensei," she begins, a few weeks later at Hinata's favorite ramen stand. "Have you ever met Orochimaru?"

He pauses, looking up from his book to her. His empty bowl in front of him. His attention span, however, is short-lived and he returns his gaze to his book. "No."

Hinata and Ino both flinch at the mention of the Sannin, though the blond hides it much better. She is currently busying herself with pouting and glaring at Kakashi, which she would vehemently deny if asked. (Yamanaka Ino did _not_ pout.)

Her plan to uncover his face had back fired tremendously. The plan had been for Ino to take over his body with her family jutsu, then walk to a nearby restaurant, as Hinata and Sakura carried her own unconscious body. The logic following had been simple. He needed to take his mask off to eat, but always refused to eat in front of them, or treat them to a meal at the very least. (The cheap bastard). If they knocked him out, brought him back at the stand under the guise of a free meal, surely he would take the bait. He did, but the other Rookie 7 had crashed into them, yelling and screaming about god knows what. By the time the girls had shoved the boys away, their sensei had long finished eating.

And he's not even paying for the food! The bastard!

Sakura, ignoring her blond teammate's pouting and further scheming, finishes her mouthful of noodles before she speaks again. She settles her chopsticks down neatly in front of her with shaking hands. Her nerves are still frazzled. "He said you had something that belonged to him."

Kakashi, in typical Kakashi fashion, didn't blink an eye. "You told the Anbu about that?"

She rolls her eyes. "Of course."

He hums slightly, smoothing out a wrinkled page. "I've certainly never taken anything from him."

"He's probably just crazy," Ino deadpans. Hinata nods behind her fifth bowl of shoyu with char siu ramen. Their sensei says nothing and returns his gaze to his book, it's a wonder he hasn't ditched them yet.

Sakura sighs at the lack of an answer, pulling the abandoned newspaper the customer next to her left.

"Are you finished, dear?" Ayame asks, smiling, and gesturing to the bowl in front of her.

"Yes, thank you," she says, smiling a little in return, before turning her attention to the newspaper.

_"Hokage Under Fire!"_ the title reads in big, black block lettering, and Sakura briefly wonders if the author is still alive. Most who insult the Fifth no longer are. She skims the article, still too antsy by the her own mention of Orochimaru's name to fully focus.

It's nothing she doesn't know already. Following the abrupt cancellation of the Chuunin exams, Danzo had falllen under fire by other hidden villages and many others. The Sand, in particular, were upset, though they had mostly turned their attention away once the rotting body of their Kage had been discovered. Feudal lords were, and still are, retracting their funding from the Hidden Leaf. Many of them had already made the journey, only to be turned away. The citizens, of course, were also unhappy.

The village and surrounding areas are restless. It doesn't help that Orochimaru is nearby.

Sakura is pulled out of her thoughts by Hinata, who whispers something about a pounding headache. Ino accuses her of eating too much, which really doesn't make sense, then offers to walk her home. Then Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving her to the bill.

The pink-haired girl sighs, propping her chin up with her hand. Teuchi smiles sympathetically at her as he hands her the bill.

*

"Hinata!" Ino calls out, but for once, the princess is no longer listening.

The Anbu above them gaze down at them, watching, waiting. They no longer confide themselves to the shadows. They spread across the village, unmoving, gray figures atop the roofs.

The civilians in the street crowd around them, echoing like mina birds. They flee to blood like sharks and like moths to a flame.

There are eyes everywhere.

The Hyuuga cousins stand in the midst of it all. Neji's once long hair tussles slightly in the wind. It is shoulder length, chopped awfully uneven. It is clear by the cut and the bandages covering his face the events that occurred.

Tensions have been rising in the Hyuuga clan, alongside the rest of the village.

Hinata's face is sickly pale. She's been suffering from continuous fatigue and low stamina. A side effect of overtraining, perhaps. Her short, shoulder-length hair is greasy and shiny. A visible bead of sweat trickles down her forehead. "...Nej—Neji niisan..."

"Why do you challenge your fate, Hinata-sama," he asks. His face is calm, but his tone is harsh and full of force. A storm brews behind those pale purple eyes. "We are both doomed."

She exhales shakily, from nerves or fatigue is unclear.

The veins around Neji's eyes become prominent as he activates his Byakugan, a challenge. Hinata can no longer refuse. She activates hers silently.

The fight ends as quickly as it begins.

Hinata miraculously strikes Neji in the chest, but she is the one to stumble backwards, gasping for air.

The Anbu are suddenly in front of them in a blink of an eye, pulling them apart through the crowds of people. Ino and Sakura rush to their teammate's aid.

Sakura almost feels proud. Hinata's hard work had paid off. Although the fight was called off, she still had won against Neji no less. But the sight of her friend is enough to stop it.

Tears of blood trickle from her eyes, turning her cheeks dark red. The consequence of pushing beyond her limits.

They have no time to tend to her before Anbu are pulling the Hyuugas away in the direction of the Hokage mansion. Ino shouts obscenities at them, but she is ignored. Sakura stops her from tackling a nearby Anbu.

She watches, horrified, as they drag her friend's bleeding body away.

*

Sakura stares down at Hinata's unconcious form, grasping one of her hands while the other pets her bangs slowly.

Is this the consequence of hard work? To best Neji, but at what cost? To try so hard and to fail nonetheless?

Kakashi hovers behind Ino, watching the three of them. He's still tasked with babysitting them. Hinata's father has long since moved on from her.

"The nerves around her eyes are damaged from excessive strain," informs the overlooking medical-nin. "They've been healed, but they're still weak. She may have fuzzy vision for a while."

Ino's hand replaces her own in petting Hinata's hair.

The medic-nin turns to Kakashi. "How many hours has she been training a day?"

"As far as I know, three to four hours a day," he says, hands in his pockets. He glances to his other students.

"We knew she was training more without us," Sakura spoke up, biting her lip, "but we didn't know to what extent."

"No training for several weeks," they order and they nod. The medic-nin leaves with no other words.

The pink-haired kunoichi looks up at her sensei, her mind whirling quickly. "Is... is the Byakugan weakening her?"

He nods slowly. "It's a common occurrence amongst kekkei genkai users, especially dojutsu ones."

Ino looks up. "Like your Mangekyo, sensei?"

He nods.

Previously, they had gone on yet another accidentally high risk mission that had forced Kakashi to use his ultimate Sharingan. Though, it had left him weak and with glasses for weeks after.

The room falls into eerie silence. It's unlikely the Byakugan deteriorating Hinata's health will stop here.

Sakura stands up suddenly, pushing out from her chair. She leaves the hospital and her team with nothing more than a door closing behind her.

*

She trains through meals and broken wrists and setting suns. She trains until her father comes searching for her in the dead of the night. She trains until it's impossible to continue any longer.

She needs to grow strong.

She needs to grow strong so that Hinata doesn't have to. She needs to grow strong so that she can have value.

Orochimaru's words plague her mind. What's the point of countless work and no gain? To dedicate your whole being and make no head?

What good is a shinobi who's not good at their job?

*

Orochimaru lays in waiting in the village, just as he lays restless in her mind. She knows it in the harsh whispers the jonin whisper to each other. She knows it in the eerie feeling that she's being watched when she's walking home. She knows it by the small container of medicine resting on her bedroom window.

It holds a handful of colorful piles and is tagged with a short and simple note: "For your friend. Good work."

The message has no sender. It doesn't need one.

*

Hinata recovers not a week later. Sakura has no time to celebrate.

*

She watches from a distance as the village begins to burn.

*

The suspicion that it's Orochimaru is instantly doused. There are civilians in the street, shouting with pitchforks and torches in their hands. There are shinobi on the roofs, fighting the Anbu above. It's a riot. A rebellion against the Hokage.

And Anbu reinforcements don't restrict themselves by fighting peacefully.

Sakura shoves her way through the escalating violence, heart thumping loudly against her chest. Her shouts are drowned by the cries for blood surrounding her. A kunai zips past her ear. Her feet stumble against someone's unmoving form.

She fills sick. (Her parents are supposed to be here.)

Blood lands on her arm as she moves. It is not her own.

She finally sees them, familiar figures not far away. "'Kaasan! Tousan!"

But she is two seconds to late. She can only watch helplessly as her parents' bodies fall to the ground, kunais sprouting like flowers from their chests.

*

The Fifth Hokage's face, set in stone, looks down upon them through it all, waiting to pass his judgement.

And they have failed.

*

Fifty-civilians, ten shinobi, and five Anbu dead. Her parents among them. She is an orphan.

She is alone. There is no time to grieve.

The event is official and required for all villagers. Any who do not attend will be arrested. It is a show of power from the Hokage. It is an execution.

The crowd stir fearfully, whispering and clutching at each other. Four figures are bound at the edge of the Hokage mansion roof. Danzo and his Anbu stand behind them. She recognizes all four of them instantly. Her throat tightens, like a hand crushing her neck.

Is there no one to bring justice? Her parents' bloodied and unmoving faces dance in front of her eyes. Is there no one who can?

Konohamaru and Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru's father, and her own sensei... Kakashi.

Their limbs are wound tightly behind their backs. Their faces already beaten and bloody. Their uniforms stripped of their hitai-ate.

Konohamaru's body shakes as he sobs, hysterical. His uncle stares at him fear-stricken, sorrowful.

Asuma turns in the direction of the Hokage. "Please," he begs, voice deep and hoarse. "He's just a child."

Danzo is unwavering. He regards them, like they are gum underneath his shoe. "He is a reminder of the Third's legacy, just as you are."

He turns to the villagers and his hand grips his cane tightly. Then, he speaks.

"Yesterday, a revolt took place to overthrow me, the standing Hokage," he echoes. "Before you are their two leaders: Nara Shikaku and Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura's head is spinning .

Danzo moves behind the two Sarutobis. "These are the Third's legacy. They are reminders that push you to foolish actions," he looks over them one last time. "Let this serve as a reminder... to all of you."

The Hokage turns his back from his people. He limps away and the four Anbu beside him step forward, withdrawing their swords.

The crowd whispers, but their cries fall on deaf ears.

Is this their world? Is this their Hokage?

Kakashi is calm in the face of death. He turns his head in her direction silently. His white hair is stiff, the ends crusted with blood. His forehead protector is forsaken, exposing his swirling red Sharingan to the world.

It pins her out amongst the sea of villagers.

He is looking directly at her. She has no doubt.

Sakura has no time to process the stinging betrayal, that he had played a role in her parents' death, when her sensei breathes his final breath. His red eye closing softly, still focused onto her.

*

It is no surprise when Orochimaru appears at her door, face smug and long hair neatly combined. His arms crossed arrogantly across his chest.

If anyone notices him, they don't care to speak of him. It is as Sakura is learning. There are dangers far worse than him in their world.

"Sakura-chan," he greets, grinning. For a mad-man, he is undeniably polite. He had even knocked. "May I come in?"

She grunts and begrudgingly opens the door for him. He observes his surroundings, amused at the mess she had made in her grief-stricken break down.

He kicks shards of glass away, walking calmly to an undamaged section of the couch. Orochimaru sits down onto the shredded and broken furniture as if it is his own.

The whole sight is unnerving.

A small part of her is screaming to not let this man anywhere near her. To not let him poison a place filled once with so many memories. A place, a house with no home, that belongs only to her now.

"What do you want?" she demands, slamming the front door roughly behind her. It is a miracle it is still in its frame.

Orochimaru smiles wordlessly, turning his head away from her. Through a pile of shattered glass, he picks out a picture off the floor. Even now, his games never cease. "My, what a beautiful family."

(That.... _bastard_...)

Sakura is at his side in an instant, ripping the family photo from his hands. The delicate paper crumbles under her rough grip. "You," she hisses, "you know exactly what happened to them."

He raises an eyebrow at her, a smug smirk still tugging at his lips. _(How dare he.)_ "It was simply a compliment, Sakura-chan."

She prowls around him like an animal, eyes narrowed and wild. "And what a coincidence, isn't it?" she asks, though it is not a question. "That they are dead and you are here now."

"I am a man of opportunity, child," he remarks, voice tinged with amusement and unrivaled arrogance. "I have had my eyes on you for quite a while now."

She narrows her eyes, pausing in her pacing. The photo crinkles further in her grip and she throws it out of sight in frustration.

"I have not seen such raw potential and excellent chakra control in a long time," he, grinning widely and his snake-like tongue slips out of his teeth to lick his lips.. "Your performance during the Chuunin exams was impressive, to say the least."

(She decides not to mention that he was the one who had forced said exams to be cancelled.)

"I'm not gonna ask again," Sakura states. Had she not been so out of her mind, she would've been proud of her blunt bravery. "What the hell do you want?"

Orochimaru leans back against the brown cushions of her couch. "Help me. If you do, I will teach you everything I know."

"Why would I do that?"

He raises an eyebrow, smirking. "You would rather stay here?"

He stands up and spreads his arms out, gesturing to the ruined remains of what was once her home. "Look around you, my dear," he says. "Konoha is about to be thrown into a civil war."

"And?" she bites out, scathingly.

"Only loss awaits in this village."

(Her parents' last moments play on rewind in her brain.)

He approaches her, hands folded neatly behind his back. He stops just a foot in front of her, glass still strewn across the floor. "There is nothing left this village has to offer you. Your abilities are lost here," he begins, calm like the water before a storm, "and I would hate to see them wasted."

It is no wonder they call him a silver tongue.

"You would have the opportunity to leave the village and train with me."

He pauses for effect. (He knows he has her.)

Sakura curses him in her mind, but his offer is to great to deny. To train under one of the legendary Sannin? To escape this blood-soaked village behind? The memory of her family? To grow strong?

Though, she tries to hide her willingness. "And if I agree?" she asks, grunting. Her voice still hoarse from crying. "What will I have to do?"

Orochimaru relishes in the moment. He grins widely, licking his lips once more. "It is a test, if you will. That is if you're willing."

(Damn him. He's using her and she knows it. She fucking knows it.)

"I am sure you know of the Sharingan," he grins.

"Who doesn't?" she remarks, scowling against her will. "One of the three ultimate doujutsu."

"The kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan."

"Yeah, well," she drawls, . "They're all dead now, so you can't have one of them."

He shakes his head. "There's still one remaining, child," he tuts. "Surely, you must know."

The pieces in her mind slam together instantly.

"He was your sensei, after all."

"Kakashi," she echoes, numbly, then adds: "But his is a transfusion."

"It still came from an Uchiha," he muses, eyes glimmering darkly. "Have you not ever wondered how he got it?"

(She has. Countless times. Though, Kakashi had never been one for storytelling.)

He takes her silence as an answer and pushes on. "That Sharingan is the only one left."

"And you want it," she concludes, scowling slightly to herself. She closes her eyes. Her head is beginning to hurt.

"Smart girl," he croons, grinning.

(She wonders how dumb he thinks she is.)

Her head throbs painfully and she is reminded of the dried blood on her hands.

The worst part about it is he's right. To stay would mean death. To go would mean growth. What has training Konoha achieved her? What progress has she made? In a world so dominated by strength, she cannot afford to fall behind.

Danzo is a dick, a bastard, a psychopath, the scum on the bottom against her shoe, but he had been right about one thing.

The strong survive.

She is not growing. She is falling behind. She will be snatched up soon if she does not become stronger. Just like her parents! Just like Kakashi!

If she is strong, no one can hurt her ever can. She will never have to relive the pain of losing her family. Of loneliness, of earth-shattering, mind-numbing pain.

She'll hurt them before they can even lay a _hand_ on her. No one will hurt her again.

(She won't let them.)

"I'll do it," she says finally, voice and shoulders stiff. She opens her eyes, peeling her hand from her forehead. "But not for you."

"Help will be at the coroner's office when you're ready," he smiles, unwavering.

*

He steps closer, drawing in like a snake to a mouse. "Remember who did this to you."

Her eyes snap open to look at him.

_"Danzo."_

*

Her so-called "help", as he had put it, does came as a surprise, however.

Kabuto sits at the step of the coroner's office, face innocently tucked into a book. Sakura knocks the book out of his hands suddenly and aggressively, snarling. He does not flinch.

_"You,"_ she hisses, voice full of venom and tinged with fire. "You... _traitor_."

The white-haired man closes his eyes, chuckling to himself. He smirks, then grins up at her, an arrogant gleam in his eye. His innocent facade gone. "I thought I might see you here... _Sakura-chan_."

She bears her teeth at him. _(Bastard.)_

"I should've known," she sneers, mind numb with disgust and fury. "You tried to kill me!"

"It was just the exams," he chided, clicking his tongue. He is even more infuriating than his master. "Don't take it too personally."

He stands up suddenly, tucking his book back into his sack. Kabuto presses his glasses up his nose, regarding her with an unimpressed mirth.

"I have to say. I don't quite get what Orochimaru-same sees in you," he admits, sighing with annoyance. "There are shinobi far greater than you."

"What? Like you?" she snaps back, raising her chin in challenge. His eyes narrow as he looks down at her.

She knows what he's here for. He's not here to help her. He's here to keep an eye on her, to make sure she finishes the job. To finish her off if she cannot.

(Damn him. Her gut had been right. He can't be trusted.)

She huffs, scowling, and turning her head from him. "Let's just get this over with," she barks out, turning her back to him. She shoves the doors open

She doesn't have time for him.

(If Kabuto and Orochimaru thinks she's going to be their pawn, then they are both damn idiots.)

*

Danzo's security is slack following his show of power. It's a mistake.

There are only three shinobi guarding, each slaughtered easily enough. Kabuto is swift and ruthless. It is no wonder that Orochimaru has a liking for him.

She punches the double doors, shattering them like something far more fragile than glass. Kabuto tuts at her reckless strength, but she ignores him, stepping into the room.

It is freezing, just as the rest of the building. The floors are polished clean white and the lights are annoyingly bright. Kakashi's body is laid out in the center of the room, on top a cold metal table, surrounded by medical tools and piles of paper.

Sakura freezes at the sight of him.

She half-expects him to sigh at her, motion her away with an excuse of "five more minutes". He does not. Of course he doesn't.

He's dead.

Her "partner" ignores her frozen statue, disregarding her and him with a distrusted stare. "I'll look out," he concludes, turning on his heels. He steps through the empty doorframe, over the rumble of wood, and disappears out of sight.

She walks to the copse of her sensei, guided by an invisible thread. She touches his skin. He is just as cold as the room around her.

(She looks more dead than him.)

His damn mask is still covering his face. His eyes are closed and the features of his face relaxed. His clothes are still soaked in blood. His headband, his marker as a shinobi, is still missing.

All she can feel is the tightness in her chest and the crushing in her throat.

"Bastard," she grunts quietly, looking down at him. "You let yourself be killed, didn't you?"

Kakashi never lost. No, no... He was unbeatable. A shinobi so skillful he was known to the crevices of the Earth. If he had lost, he had chosen to.

"You chose to die, didn't you?" her voice is gruff and hoarse. Her breaths short and harsh. She forces the lump down in her throat and makes her body breathe, even if it stings painfully. She refuses to cry.

(If she thinks, she will break. If she feels, she will shatter.)

"You left me alone," she chokes out, voice turning to a hiss. Body shaking unwillingly. "Why...?"

His silent infuriates her and floods her body with grief.

"WHY?" she screams, but he does not answer. She pounds her fists on her chest, but he does not move.

Of course he doesn't.

"Dammit, dammit," she hisses, stumbling backwards. She's talking to dead people.

She's talking to dead people.

(Crazy... Crazy weak... Coward... Dammit!)

She rips a scalpel off the table and stabs it into his eye. No blood leaks out or splatters. Luckily, it's not the eye that she needs.

She pulls it out just as quickly, hissing as if just burned. "Dammit, dammit all..."

(Has she finally gone mad?)

"Time is ticking," Kabuto chides, cheerfully. He finds her grief humorous. (She hates him.)

"I know!" she snarls, shouting.

Sakura turns back to her sensei, exhaling shakily. It has only been a day, but he is already beginning to reek. She tenderly peels back his undamaged eyelid, wincing at the feeling.

(She's never liked dead things.)

Carefully, she slips the scalpel into his eye socket. She cuts around the nerve, being sure to not damage the eye. It's much easier than she expected.

Kabuto is suddenly at her side, unscrewing the top of a container of mysterious clear liquid. She rips the eyeball out, snapping the last of the nerves. She quickly dumps it in the container, ignoring the awful touch.

"Impressive," he admits, sealing the container shut. He eyes her up and down. He thought she couldn't do it. (He had almost been right.)

She scowls at him, turning away from Kakashi's body to face him. (She can't look at him any longer.)

"What now?"

"Gather your things," he says, simply. Then he turns his back to her and walks out, leaving her with the damaged and broken body of her sensei.

*

Orochimaru's words whisper like poison in her brain.

_Remember who did this._

*

The night wind is cool against her skin, a stark contrast to the storm brewing within her. Pebbles knock around each other as she walks. The chorus of bugs and the harmony of frogs sing through the night.

Kabuto and Orochimaru are far ahead of her. She is supposed to meet them at the rendezvous point.

"Sakura-chan," a gentle voice calls to her, more charming than the jingle of bells.

She freezes where she stands. The cold night air doesn't feel so calming anymore.

Hinata stands out in the darkness of the street, like the moon in the night sky, a small ray of light in the otherwise dark world. The wind tussles her growing hair. Her stares at her softly with gentle purple eyes.

"Hinata," she says. Her throat tightens unbearably.

(Why Hinata, dammit? Why not Ino? She would feel much less guilt about kicking Ino's ass.)

"Go home."

Her teammate exhales shakily, struggling to keep her breathing even. "Don't leave," she all but begs, "please."

Sakura's nerves suddenly steel. "I have to do this."

She shakes her head, soft hair swaying. "No, you don't."

Bitterness stingers her tongue, it turns her mood sourer and makes her scowl. Of all the times for the ever-understanding Hinata to not understand, why now?

She couldn't understand. She would never be able to understand.

The pink-haired kunoichi is suddenly standing behind the other in a heartbeat. She presses the cool tip of a kunai to her old teammate's throat.

"Are you going to kill me?" the Hyuuga asks. Her voice is calm and steady. For once, she is not afraid.

They both know the answer.

(Killing her had no benefit.)

She presses a little closer, lowering her head to whisper to the shorter girl. "Thank you... Hinata."

She knocks her out quickly, almost effortlessly. She lays Hinata down on the grass in front of the Academy, the night noises still chorusing around them.

*

She doesn't know when she'll return, if it will be soon or many years from now, if it is after Konoha destroys itself from the inside out— but she knows one thing.

She looks up, seething, to the stone face of the Fifth Hokage.

She'll be back.

*

She's being followed. She's not sure for how long, but she can sense their presence. She tries to lose them but to no avail. Her pursuer is persistent.

She reaches the edge of the forest, landing in the clearing just outside. The sound of a powerful waterfall fills the air, previously muted by the thick forest. 

She pauses in catching her breath, then turns back to the forest, eyes narrowed. "Who's there?" she demands.

Tree branches snap as they rush forward to answer. They land swiftly in front of her, ponytail swinging behind them. Sakura recognizes them immediately.

"Finally stopped running, big brow?" Ino taunts, jeering. Though, her usual friendly nature to it is gone. Anger glows in her eyes and her lips twitch with a sneer.

Of course, Sakura thinks. Leave it to Ino to fuck this up for her.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The blond lets out a short, frustrated and humorless laugh. "What the hell am I doing?" she repeats, "What the hell are you doing!"

She takes a moment to gather her thoughts.

"You knocked out Hinata!"she hisses, "She didn't even _try_ to fight you!— And you just left her there on the ground— on the ground— dammit!"

The pink-haired kunoichi is already growing angry. Ino has the talent of easily digging underneath her skin.

"Kakashi is dead!" she shouts, furious. "And you— you're trying to _leave_ — everything is falling apart, Sakura! You can't just fucking leave— fuck!"

The other girl grits her teeth, "How did you know I was leaving?"

"There was an attack at the coroner's office! I guess what I saw when I was looking over the tapes with my dad!" she's almost screaming now. "You and fucking— fucking— _Kabuto_ mutilating Kakashi's body! You stabbed him in one eye and then stole the other one!—I mean, _what the fuck_ , Sakura!? He was— he was our sensei!!!"

She thinks of Hinata, sweet, kind, and ever understand, Hinata, who doesn't understand. If Hinata couldn't understand, how the hell could Ino?

"And for what?!" her voice is rising in pitch now. "To get on the good side of some psychotic madman, who fucking castrated people for a living!— I mean, what the fuck, Sakura!— Have you lost your fucking mind?"

Sakura snaps.

"What the hell do you know about me?" she sneers. "You know nothing about me!"

"To hell!" she screams, "I've known you before you even knew how to fucking spell!"

"Then, where were you?!" she shouts back, voice hoarse and angry. "Where were you when my parents died, huh? When Kakashi died?"

Ino wavers, but as soon as it appears, it is gone. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Uncle Shika—"

"Seriously?" she shouts, body shaking with anger. "You're making excuses now? Oh, real mature of you, Ino!"

Of course she won't actually apologize. Of course she won't. Ino never yields, not even now. Not even for Sakura, especially for Sakura.

"What, you think you were the only one suffering?" she yells. "The man who was like my second father is dead! My father is under investigation for helping him! You think you're the only one going through hell right now?"

"Don't you do that to me," she snaps. "Don't play your fucking mind games with me right now!"

"When the hell have I ever used mind games on you, huh?!"

"Right now! Right fucking now!"

"Oh, so telling you the truth is considered mind games now? This is so fucking stupid. I can't believe you right—"

Sakura launches herself out her. The blond misses the blow, allowing the powerful punch to shatter the ground where she had once been. She tackles her and they roll back onto the giant statue head, grappling and punching at each other.

Ino is trying to form seals, but is too busy avoiding the chakra-enhanced punches to complete them. Frustrated, she lands a kick in the other's abdomen. Sakura begins to fall over the edge, but as she does so, she latches onto the blond and drags her over with her.

They kick at each other as the fall, wrestling to get the other to let go. The roaring of the waterfall muffles their curses and the sickening crunch of bone-on-bone.

As the ground rapidly approaches, they kick apart from each other at the same time. They land roughly onto the water below, but still very much above it.

"You," Sakura snarls, "you know nothing about me. You— who has a family! You— who has a clan! You know nothing of my pain!"she screams, louder than the waterfall behind them. "You— you— who was practically born a genin!— How could you even possibly begin to understand even a _fraction_ of my struggle!"

The blond is clutching her injured arm opposite her, eyes narrowed, but she's listening.

"You and Hinata have always been running ahead of me and leaving me behind," she hisses. "The two future clan heads and Sakura! Well, I'm sick of it! So, maybe, for once in my fucking life I'd like that to change!"

"So, you'll go to Orochimaru?" she shouts back, just as furious. "Do you know just how fucking insane you sound right now?" she demands. "Hinata and I have only ever seen you as an equal! We're your friends, not your enemies!"

"If you were my friend, why aren't you following me?" she hisses. "You'd rather stay in the village?"

"My _family_ is in the village!"

"See! That's what I mean!" she pauses, then sneers in disgust. She's never felt so furious in her life. "You're willing to ignore Danzo's heartlessness for... for your _bonds_ ," she spits out the word like it's poison.

"What the hell do you want me to do, Sakura?" she yells, demanding. "Overthrow the fucking Hokage? Konoha is my home! No matter what damn asshole rules it!"

She bares her teeth at her, snarling. "My _home_ stopped existing the moment my parents died—"

"—Oh my fucking god," she interrupts. "Not this shit again—"

"I lost my whole family and my sensei in one day, Ino!" she screams so loudly that it will surely hurt her throat for the following day, but she hardly cares anymore. "In twenty four hours, I lost the most important people in my life! I watched all of them die in front of my eyes, Ino!" she screams. "You still have a family! I've lost everything! You know nothing of my pain! So, don't even act like you do for a second!"

The blond is suddenly and uncharacteristic quiet for a few seconds. When she finally speaks again, her voice is calm but it's furious none the less. "Everything?" she echoes, then she begins to shout again. "Do Hinata and I mean nothing to you?! Has Team 7 meant nothing to you?! The moment things get bad, you run away with your tail between your legs!"

"The moment?!" she laughs, humorless and hysterical. "Things have been bad for a long fucking time, Ino! The Fourth's son was murdered by the people who were supposed to protect him! Sasuke was ten—nine—and he killed himself! Our sensei was executed like a criminal! My civilian parents were slaughtered like enemy ninja! We're taught the importance of the Will of Fire, as children, but learn how to kill at eight! We're tortured as children in the Academy to learn to resist it later! Open your fucking eyes, Ino! Things have been bad for a long fucking time!"

Her former teammate falls into silent at her outburst. She glares down at the water rippling underneath her feet. And even though the space between them can't be more than twenty feet, they've never been so far away.

"I'm sick of this," Ino concludes, focusing her now steely gaze onto her. "I'm sick of this! You're going back to the village! Even if I have to break every bone in your body!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

There is nothing godly about their fight. They pull and kick and punch, with half-formed seals and an occasional show of super strength. There is no light show of unearthly powers. No clash of demons and monster. There is no foreshadowing to their location. No significance to the figures of the forefathers behind them. No significance to The Valley of the End but that.

The End.

And when Ino falls to the ground, unconcious, Sakura is struggling to not do the same. Her knees give out underneath her, body racked with pain, and her face hovering only centimeters from the other. Her hitai-ate falls from her forehead and it clangs noisily to the ground.

The falling rain is cold against her skin, freezing like small needles. The water and their blood mix together into puddles, drenching their clothes to their skin. The soft plitter platter of the rain fells the air and fills the silence between them.

This is the cost for power, a price that she's willing to pay.

(And if she has to sacrifice others for it, then so be it.)

She stands up shakily, knees bruised and legs bleeding. She picks up her fallen hitai-ate and ties it around her forehead, not minding the nasty, long scratch across its face.

She leaves Ino at the Valley of the End without so much of a glance. For once in her life, Sakura does not look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry I really thought I was gonna be able to post this sooner T-T i’m not really satisfied tbh but idk...? Sigh this is all just kinda a mess im sorry T-T there’ll probably be one or two more parts?? I’ll answer any questions if you have them : )


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two steps back, one step forward. Sakura's life as a rogue goes about just as well as you think it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this took so long :( please enjoy!

He is a plague in her mind, a virus corrupting every once beautiful memory. In her mother's love, she sees her horrified, frozen face. In Kakashi's teachings, she sees his damaged and unmoving corpse.

She lives every thought with anger, a new way of revenge always at the tip of her mind. Her hatred consumes her, unwavering like the Amaterasu flames Orochimaru hopes to achieve. 

_He_ had stolen everything from her. She'll do the same to him.

She'll scrub his existence from this cursed earth and burn every last piece of his blood-stained legacy. She won't just kill him, no.

She will crush him like the roach he is. 

*

If no one else will be strong enough to kill Danzo, then she will.

*

Life with Orochimaru is far from perfect, but is a haven in comparison to the village she left behind. She is his prized student. His left-hand man, his star pupil.

He has the world's knowledge at his finger tips and Sakura is more than willing to learn. He teaches her a Summoning and she signs her name on the Snakes' contract in her own blood. She perfects Shuriken jutsu and all its follow-ups. She learns ninjutsu, far beyond anything Kakashi had ever taught.

_A genius_ , he tells her, and for once, he is right.

*

When Sakura is fourteen, she makes a deal with the devil and doesn't care to look back.

*

"The Sharingan," she says one day, leaning against a cluttered lab counter, arms crossed haughtily over her chest. She had followed Orochimaru into one of the labs, curious of his new findings. Upon one of his shelves, sealed away in a container filled of clear solution, sits Kakashi's Sharingan, blank and unmoving to the world.

"Ah, yes," the snake smiles. He moves to stand next to the eye, like a prized trophy in a case. "Isn't it... alluring?"

"Hn," she says, neither confirming nor denying. (Orochimaru, after all, displays much stranger things than a stolen eye.) "Why haven't you used it?"

His smile disappears and the ends of his lips tilt into a frown. "I have yet to find a host body compatible with it."

"Host body?"

"I suppose you wouldn't know," he grins, tongue sweeping out to lick his lips. "Danzo did have you under a bit of a leash, didn't he?"

Her eyes narrow.

"Na, na, Sakura-chan," he tuts, chuckling. "Let me explain.... What is my goal, child?"

She tilts her head a little, ignoring Kabuto's approaching presence. "To learn all jutsu in the world."

"How long do you think that would take?" he presses. "A few years? A decade?"

(Sometimes she wonders if he truly does think she's that dumb or if he just likes hearing himself talk.)

"Several life times."

"Exactly," he praises. "The human soul is forever. The body is not. If a person's conscious can be transferred from one body to another, then—"

"—in theory, they could achieve immortality," she concludes.

"— it's hardly theory," Kabuto interjects, appearing between them. He pushes his glasses up his nose in that annoying way he does. "Orochimaru-sama has made it a reality."

(Somehow, she doubts that.)

"And you're trying to find a host for the Sharingan— for your next body?"

"Yes."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Why didn't you just take Kakashi sensei's body over then?"

Kabuto clicks his tongue, as if he explaining counting to a toddler and not jutsu to a genius. "Hatake Kakashi was only partially compatible with the Sharingan. As he aged and weakened, his body would've eventually rejected it, or developed a terminal illness from the strain."

Orochimaru sighs a little. "And this year was such a shame. Not a suitable host in sight, not even at the Chuunin exams."

"What about that one boy?" asks Kabuto, readjusting his glasses. "The Hyuuga."

"A prodigy, certainly," he muses. "Unfortunately, a Byakugan body is even more incompatible with the Sharingan than a normal one."

She squints to herself, watching them go back and forth. (Are they talking about Neji?).

"Did you ever find another host?" asks Sakura finally, unable to prevent her weary gaze. She tightens her arms around her chest.

The white-haired shinobi seems to read her train of thought and laughs, pushing his glasses up his nose. "No need to worry. You're hardly a suitable candidate as Orochimaru's host body," he mocks. "He wants a powerful kekkei genkei, not a useless civilian brat."

She snarles and bears her teeth at him, prepared to snap back. Orochimaru steps in before she can. "Nah, nah, Kabuto," he scolds, more amused than anything. "Let's not pick fights. I don't want my Sharingan to be damaged."

Her stomach stirs a little, but she says nothing. _(Yours?)_

"What do you even want it for?" she challenges, but she already knows the answer.

(The Mangekyou Sharingan has unimaginable powers. Far beyond anything Kakashi had the chance to accomplish.)

Orochimaru grins back at her, as he always does. "You sure are talkative today, aren't you, Sakura-chan?"

*

"You know," begins Kabuto, clicking his tongue smugly. "You are only a blank slate to Orochimaru-sama," he says, in yet another attempt to get under her skin. He's grinning as he adjusts his glasses on his face. "A child to teach, to measure his vessel alongside."

Sakura looks up from her scroll, emotionless. As if she cared for what that snake or his blind follower thought of her.

"Shut up."

*

Whoever said that time heals all wounds is a fool.

Time only digs hers deeper.

*

"Your hair," croons the female Oto-nin, the one who had been at the Chuunin exams a life time ago. "What a pretty color."

Sakura's mind is blank with rage, as the foreign fingers slip through her hair, roughly tugging at the small knots within.

"Pretty pink for a pretty girl," she smiles without a hint of friendliness. She looks up at her through haughty eyelashes, an arrogant smirk plastered on her face. "Pretty girls don't last out here."

The Oto-nin flies across the room like a doll, broken nose bleeding profusely. Her back connects with the wall and it cracks as they connect, a sickening crunch echoing through the hideout hallways as they meet.

_(Weak.)_

She spits on her body for good measure.

*

She learns of Konoha’s untimely fate when she is fifteen, huddled in a civilian tea house on a chilly autumn evening. 

The wind is harsh and the temperature chill, but the grass still stubbornly green. It is a rare day in which she leaves the hideout, hiking through the woods, and searching for a civilian town to walk through.

(Orochimaru allows her to have as much free range as she wants.)

Shivering, Sakura wraps her hands around the cup of her tea, pressing her palms closer to the heat. She sits alone, hustled away in the corner of one of the tea shop's table, pink hair hidden and a coat hanging off her shoulders. The rest of the tea house bustles excitedly with life and warmth around her.

She sips her tea leisurely, allowing herself to indulge in one of her few off days. Eventually, her cup is emptied and she stands up. As she moves to leave, she spots an abandoned newspaper on a nearby table.

She smooths the ruffled pages with her gloved hands, staring down intently at the headline. She's never been so happy to see bold, black-printed letters.

_Civil War in the Leaf!_

*

The Leaf's fate and all its occupants is not hard to decide from there. Konoha will destroy itself from the inside-out. That is without a doubt.

In his arrogant desire for control, Danzo will slaughter anyone who stands in his way. He will be the end of the very place he sought to perfect.

It hardly matters.

As long as Danzo is still alive, as long as he's still breathing for her to kill him, Konoha can destroy itself as many times as it wants.

*

When Sakura is sixteen, she forgets her own birthday. 

She doesn't realize it's her birthday until a day after, staring at Kabuto's calendar in the cleanness of his lab. She walks back to her room numbly, slamming the door behind her and not bothering to dig herself under the scratchy blankets.

It is a harsh reminder of the people who are no longer there to congratulate her.

She celebrates with the ghosts and demons at the funeral inside her head.

*

Some nights, but never for long, she lays awake in the darkness of her room, staring at the flickering candle light.

Are Ino and Hinata still alive?

*

Her pink hair is dirty, tied up poorly into a ponytail. Her yukata hangs from her frame. The ends sticky with sweat, like paper against her skin. Beads of sweat slip own her back and face and everywhere else she never thought could sweat. Her legs burn from strain and her arms weak from use.

Her hands blur, impossible to read to the normal human eyes. She weaves signs so fast and expertly that it puts shinobi twice her age to shame. She can feel her control slipping as her chakra continues to rapidly drain.

Her fingers land on the last seal. "Earth Release: Stone Attack!"

Stone stakes shoot up from the ground, slanted. Larger than two people both ways, gigantic and unmovable. They pierce through trees like paper, snapping them in half, or impaling them completely. Birds squawk and fly away in flocks from their damaged homes.

Her legs buckle against her weight, and she falls to the ground, knees scraping harshly. She inhales harshly, lungs stinging painfully and deeply.

From where he is standing, Orochimaru claps, slowly and amusedly. He leans against one of the few undestroyed trees, an arrogant smirk on his face.

She turns away from him, eyes scanning over the destruction of the woods.

She sneers.

(It's barely a dent.)

*

She cannot honestly believe there was once a time she had thought the Sannin before her was terrifying. Sakura stares down at Orochimaru unimpressedly.

He is strewn arrogantly across a pool chair, pale skin covered by loose garbs. He's sitting in the sun, a tube of sunscreen lay on the ground nearby. Slim black sunglasses cover his slitted eyes and he holds a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other.

"Ah, Sakura," he greets, unwavering. She is almost compelled to think he's a hallucination. "Hand me the sunscreen, will you?"

She does not.

"You said you would train me today," she states stubbornly, eyes narrowed. (Is this man a joke? A gossiper who enjoys the chaos of drama and the irritable spring sun?)

He rolls his eyes behind his glasses. "I train you every day," he gestures to the pool seat next to him. "Sit down."

She turns to look at the empty chair, Kabuto's stuff still strewn across it. She knocks his stuff of, because she's a dick like that, but does not sit down. Orochimaru grins a little, amused, and she scowls. (He always thinks she's a cute, little pet.)

"Take a break," he says. "My host body was chosen last minute. He has awful stamina."

She stares at him, anger beginning to tinge at her edges. "I don't have time for this," she tells him.

He lowers his glasses to look up at her from its top and chuckles. "Ambitious. I've never understood your obsession with Danzo."

"He killed my family," she states, like it is the most obvious thing in the world.

He laughs, voice a snake like hiss. "Murdering a few civilians is hardly the worst thing he's done."

Her eyes narrow, but she tilts her head a little, curiously. "Like what?"

He clicks his tongue and slides his glasses back up, resembling much closer to an interested gossiper than the experimental mad-man he is. "Nah, nah, Sakura-chan, I can't say much."

She crosses her arms over her chest and glares down at him. "Why bring it up if you weren't gonna say anything?"

He chuckles.

She narrows her eyes. (Does he think he's funny?)

He grins amusedly at her expression, turning away from her, he begins to answer. "Long ago, Danzo and I had an alliance of sort. He provided me with intelligence while I was... _out of town_ , persay. And in exchange, I gave him access to my experiments."

"What experiments?" she demands, struggling to keep her tone even. Anger wraps its strong grip amongst her chest.

(Orochimaru had worked with Danzo— that— that traitorous bastard!)

(She'll kill him, dammit. Kill him!)

If he senses her shift in mood, he says nothing. He only grins wider at her, malicious and unfriendly. "If you ever fight him, you'll see."

She says nothing.

*

He is foolish enough to believe she won't target him for his past allegiance.

*

Kabuto paces back and forth, from shelf-to-shelf, frantically packing anything in his hands away, as he barks orders to his assistants. Sakura watches the white-haired shinobi scramble around his lab, an amused expression on her lips. Her feet comfortably kicked up on a chair, a pink lollipop swirling in her mouth.

"What are you doing laying around?" he snaps at her, but not pausing in his frantic packing. "You—" he knocks over a jar of liquid and it shatters to the ground, spilling its contents and glass everywhere. He curses loudly.

"Sitting, _Kabuto-san_ ," she says, eyes gleaming mockingly.

He sneers at hr, kicking the broken jar's shards to the side. "In case you haven't noticed, _Sakura-Chan_ , Orochimaru-sama ordered an _emergency evacuation_."

She pauses to listen to the yelling and shouting from the other side of the wall, noises of the prisoners as they're being relocated. "I'm aware."

(In truth, she hasn't had anyone challenging enough to spar with for weeks. Anyone who forces Orochimaru to place an evacuation order has to be worth something.)

"This isn't just anyone, you foolish brat," he spat, shoving a packed box off to someone else. "The Akatsuki are on their way!"

She turns the lollipop in her mouth with her tongue. She's only heard that name in the shadows.

She takes the lollipop out to speak again. "Who?" she asks, with the sole intention of getting under his skin.

Kabuto snarls at her, rolling his eyes at her supposed stupid. "The organization Orochimaru-sama is formerly from," he snaps.

(She knows. They must be after him to tie up some loose ends.)

"Who?"

He slams one journal down particularly hard, finally turning to glare at her, but only briefly. "The world's worst criminals are on their way here!"

She grins, "Okay."

He hisses furiously underneath his breath, turning back to packing. She intertwines her legs as she continues watching him. "They've already taken the Ichibi's Jinchuuruki—"

Her head snaps up. (Now that, she didn't know.)

"—The Ichibi?"

"Yes," he hisses. "They've been hunting Tailed Beasts— and now, now they've finally got their hands on one—"

"Who?" she presses. "Who was the Jinchuuriki?"

He flips rapidly through journals, trying to find one unimportant, until he gives up and dumps them all in a box. "You should know," he hisses, growing increasingly frustrated, "they were at the Chuunin exams."

"It ended a little early," she drawls.

(She still hasn't forgiven him for being a traitor.)

He ignores her, frantically wrapping cloth around jars to protect them. "A Sand genin."

She racks her brain and then her eyes widen. "Subaku no Gaara?" He makes an annoyed noise of confirmation. She falls back into her seat, humming softly.

Gaara had been a violent and bipolar child soldier, a prodigy gone wrong. His Ultimate Defense, his sand, was unimpaired. Not long after the Chuunin exams's suspension, he had fled the Sand. The search for him had been minimal at best.

It seems he hadn't been so untouchable, after all.

(Jinchuurikis all share the same fate, in the end.)

The hideout shakes suddenly and dust rains down from the ceiling. In the far end of the hideout, sirens begin to blare.

"Go find Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto snaps, irritated. "He will be annoyed if you die."

She swings her legs off the chair, stretching. She complies to his orders for once. "Hn," she grunts, walking haughtily out the door, with her pink hair swaying behind her.

She can't kill Orochimaru if Akatsuki gets to him first, after all.

*

In hindsight, she had never really intended for Orochimaru to live.

In the back of her mind, even before she learned about his past association with Danzo, she planned to kill him. When he no longer became useful, when he had nothing left to teach, she would kill him.

And he has long lost his use.

His past alliance with Danzo is just another excuse to kill him. Orochimaru has to die.

Anyone associated with Danzo has to, after all.

*

Time runs against Orochimaru. She knows it in the way his knees collapse against him and his chakra disperses against her senses. His three year time limit has almost been reached, and he is no closer to finding a host to the Sharingan than he had been three years ago.

Sakura watches him at the foot of his bed, as Kabuto tends to him, drugging him up on meds and placing a cold towel on his forehead.

"A host," he grunts roughly, eyes locked onto her. "A host."

*

He has been foolish enough to believe she is his loyal student— and he has entrusted her with knowledge that will be his downfall.

*

When Sakura is sixteen, she kills the Sannin who had become her mentor.

She leans against the wall outside of Orochimaru's headquarters, listening intently to the voices behind the door. Her chakra is masked and neither of them sense her.

"My time," the snake coughs, voice rough and scratchy like gravel, "is runn— running out. Bring her... bring her to me..."

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto argues, voice stuttering. "You can't— She's not— She's not compatible—"

"Bring her here— now!" he shouts, before falling into a fit of coughing. The door slams open next to her and she slinks deeper into the shadows. Kabuto scurries out of the room, in the direction of her own.

She watches him as she goes, amused grin tugging at her lips. Is Orochimaru so desperate he wants her body now?

(She'll die before she'll let him lay a hand on her.)

The echo of Kabuto's footsteps fades into silence. The wind whistles in the cold hideout, tussling her hair against her face. She presses her palm against the wooden door gently, pauses for just a heartbeat of a second, then shoves it open.

The door bangs against the wall loudly as she strides in haughtily, expression unphazed. Orochimaru looks up at her, blood dribbling from his lips, and then freezes, the muscles of his jaw twitching.

(Is this how low he's fallen?)

(Pathetic.)

She draws a kunai from the holster at her leg, eyes still strained on her old teacher.

He narrows his eyes in return. "Y-you," he manages against her paralysis genjutsu, spitting.

"Don't worry," she says, holding the kunai up. The light dances softly against its sharpened edge. "I was planning to betray you before this all happened.

He pauses, closes his eyes, and chuckles despite the strain

He looks back at her, eyes gleaming. "You were a good student, child. A genius, I may say," he states, but it is not a compliment. "But I am out of options," he hisses, "and out of time."

Her hold over the genjutsu upon him snaps and he lunges at her, but he is weak and sickly. His speed is nothing compared to what it used to be. Her kunai embeds itself easily into his chest and he flies back into the headboard, back cracking cruelly against the unforgiving wood. From his opened mouth, a blur of darkness shoots out. The chakra in his body blinks from existence before reforming behind her.

A giant white snake stares down at her, with Orochimaru's face and the scales of other snakes. He hisses at her, whipping his tongue back and forth animalistically.

(But Sakura has long since learned there are threats far greater than him.)

"So, this is your true form?" she muses, voice mocking and she cocks her head arrogantly. "A snake through and through."

He snarls. "I will have your body and mind!"

"Die," she snarls, spitting.

Snakes jump from his body, launching towards her in every direction, as they fight. But Sakura is quick and strong, and she snaps them like scissors against string. His sickness slows him and he can only avoid her high-powered punches so well.

Her hands blur in a mix of seals. "Earth Style: Stone Attack."

A stone spear juts from the ground, tougher than steel, pierces through his body. Orochimaru howls in pain, twisting against the stake, blood bleeding excessively from his gigantic wound.

Then she falls to her knees, body suddenly numb with pain. She raises her head blearily and watches the blood turn to gas before it hits the ground.

The snake chuckles despite the wound. "When body fluid leaves this great body, it evaporates into a paralyzing drug." He sickeningly rips the rest of himself in half, opposite ends falling to opposite sides of the pillar. His tail piece slivers towards his head, reattaching to its severed end.

She winces in disgust.

"God," she spits, coughing, "you talk too damn much."

He lunges.

When she blinks, she is no longer in his chambers. She stands waist deep in squirming brain material that slithers against her skin like snakes. And when she looks, darkness stretches as far as she can see.

"This is the dimension of my Rebirth Ritual," says Orochimaru, standing across from her. The brain material covers his whole body, firmly cocooning him. "You are not my first choice," he promises, "but you, you, will do."

The material clings against her clothing, wrapping their slimy figures against her. But then their forms freeze, blackness blooming from their depths and spreading rapidly against the dimension.

"H-how," he stutters, eyes wide. "How? Impossible!" he cries. "I created this dimension!"

She grins at him, the brain material retreating from her body and form. Her chest relaxes without the strain. "My will is stronger than yours," she explains, simply.

He watches her. "Your will," he repeats.

She cocks her head arrogantly at him. "I will avenge my family and my sensei. I will get my revenge on Danzo and cast him from this world. I am an Avenger," she says, then spits. "I don't lose to the likes of _you_."

"I am a Sannin," he snarls, black brain material encasing him deeper. "You are no match for me!"

Perhaps in his prime, but now, he is anyone's game. When her feet move to walk, the material clear from her path. It makes her grin, as she looks back up at him. "I don't need you anymore, Orochimaru."

He struggles against the squirming darkness. "I am your sensei!"

"You were never my sensei," she says. "You are _nothing_ — and you will die here."

"Why?" he demands, spitting.

"You worked with Danzo."

"I told you," he snarls, struggling harder now. "Our contract expired long ago!"

"I don't care," she says, simply and uncaring. "He killed my mom."

*

When she reemerges, Kabuto is standing in the room, horrified expression trained on her. He glances between his master's broken body and the bloody shinobi before him.

"You... Which one are you?"

She raises her head, whipping her face with back of her hand, and smiles. "Who do you think?"

His face pales.

And she is not stupid enough to leave him alive.

*

She digs a shallow hole, scraping through the dirt with her hands and nails. The dirt clings to her skin, smelling of fresh ground and green grass.

She considers taking it at first, transplanting it in in her own eye, but it is a pointless endeavor.

The Uchiha had taken their secrets of the Sharingan to the grave.

(Perhaps that isn't so bad.)

She buries her sensei's eye there, under a giant tree on the edge of a wide clearing. It is nothing amazing, nothing perfect, nothing special. No Icha Icha books or beautiful women in sight.

But she thinks he would have appreciated it anyways.

*

Suigetsu stands behind her, presssing a finger gun to the side of her head, just as naked as the day he was born. "Listen," he says. "I don't take orders from anyone. Not you. Not Orochimaru. Not anyone."

"Orochimaru is dead," she says cooly, but the smirk on her lips betrays her. "I killed him."

The white-haired rogue blinks at her, surprised. He reels back. "You're lying," he decides.

"Why do you think I'm covered in blood, dumbass?"

"Ooh, fiesty," he comments. "So, what the hell do you want from me and why the hell should I help you?"

"If you comply, I'll tell you with the others."

"I said, what do I get?"

She rolls her eyes, but plays along. "You remember who my old team took down, don't you?"

"Momochi Zabuza," he grins. "Pretty impressive for a group of brats."

"I know where his Executioner's Blade is."

He perks up, very now clearly interested. "You do?"

"Hn," she confirms. "I'll show you where it is, but only if you come with me. I'll help you find the other swords later."

"Alright," he grins, throwing his arms behind his shoulders and pressing his head into them. "Lead the way, boss."

She walks off haughtily. "Put on some fucking clothes."

*

"Ino Bridge, huh?" Suigetsu reads, squinting up at the bridge. An amused tone to his voice. "That's a weird name."

An old feeling of jealously stirs deep in her gut. "Don't," she says, walking ahead, with her purple waist ropes flowing behind her, "care."

*

She hopes Ino is still alive and improving.

It would be such a shame if she won so easily after all this time.

*

Juugo runs towards her, cackling maniacally, half of his body transformed. "You think you can take me on?"

Sakura regards him cooly. "I have no will to fight you.. _Juugo_."

He throws his head back and laughs, rabid yellow eyes darting across their forms. Suigetsu kneels to the ground, his new blade discarded. Karin not far from him. "I have no plans of leaving, pinkie!"

Her eyes narrow, then her expression changes and she relaxes. She holds her chin up hottily, eyes arrogant. She settles for a low blow. "I see you haven't been handling Kimimaro's death well."

"You!" he shouts, transformation spreading further across his body. "You have no right to mention his name!"

Kimimaro had once been Orochimaru's potential host, but he had fallen ill to a terminal illness and died not long after. He had been Juugo's friend, extended a hand when others had ran, caged him to sanity when insanity had threatened.

And he had died just like any other fool.

Juugo charges.

"Sakura!" shouts Karin. Sakura runs forward to reach him in the middle.

Their fists collide, a small but sturdy one against the large, rough textior of the other. Juugo is sent flying backwards, crushing into the wall with inhuman force. A crater forms around his body and he winces. She smirks, unmoving, feet firmly planted on the ground.

Suigetsu's mouth falls open. "Holy shit!" he cries.

Next to him, Karin grins proudly, pushing her glasses up her nose. "What?" she snorts, "You didn't know she could do that?"

"No!"

"Baka," she scoffs at him, but turns back to the other girl and swoons, smiling. (Sakura! Cool as always...)

"Juugo," she says, "I will be your cage. There is no attack you can strike me with that I can't return with twice the force."

It is the truth and they both know it.

Juugo may be strong, but Sakura is stronger.

She watches, quietly, as Juugo's curse mark slowly retreats from his body. He looks up at her, breathing heavily, but calmed and normal. His orange hair is mussed and his eyes tired. She holds out his hand to him, he accepts, and she pulls him up.

"You're strong," he says, blinking. She grunts in affirmation.

"So," Suigetsu grins, clapping his hands, and spreading his arms. "You gonna tell us why you're putting together a little club?"

Karin shouts at him, swinging a punch, but her rage makes her sloppy and he ducks easily. "Teme! Don't call us a club!"

"Girl Scouts?"

She tackles him to the ground.

"Sell some cookies— ah!— make s'mores— ack! Karin!"

Sakura turns her back to them, amuses but not willing to interfere. Juugo glances nervously between the two arguing shinobi, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. When she speaks, she pauses in her stride and the three turn to face her. "On the contrary, Suigetsu," she says, turning to face them, lashes lowered maliciously.

"We're going to kill the Hokage."

*

Life with Team Hebi is not what she expects it to be. They travel across the continent, collecting intel on any scrap of information they can get their hands on. They sleep in tents buried deep within the forest and swim in streams when the summer gets too hot.

Life with Team Hebi is weird. They work well together. They're not friends— no, they would each rather die than call the other _friend_ — but they fall so easily into a team dynamic. They bicker and argue, and pummel each other half-way to death, but when the time comes they're _there_.

Life with Team Hebi is... _nice_. They care nothing for ethics, not like Kakashi had. No one lectures her for a misdeed, no one belittles her for a misstep. They don't nosily prod into the other's traumatic past, only to offer useless, half-assed advice when a nerve is hit. They never ask of her scratched Konoha headband or why she still wears it. And despite their traumatic backgrounds, none seem to truly care. They live life freely, a sarcastic, rag-tag gang of criminal run-aways.

Life with Team Hebi is weird... but a good weird.

When Sakura is sixteen, she finds a damaged home in a team of defecties and freaks. But good things never last long and she is cautious to their stability. 

*

Sakura watches Suigetsu and Karin argue loudly as they walk, threatening to pummel the other into the ground. Juugo watches them wearily, lagging behind so as not to be involved.

She watches, amused, as they squabble, and wonders why their dynamic feels so familiar.

*

Juugo apologizes to the man, as he slings him over his shoulder. He squirms against his restraints, a muffled scream escapes from his gag. Karin hits him upside the head and he stops moving.

The man is a politician from a civilian town on the Land of Fire's border. He had been approached by Danzo's men, in a search for aide in their continuously escalating civil war. The man had agreed to send supplies bi-monthly. He is a small, portly man, and sleezy and balding as all politicians are.

Hebi had kidnapped him in the hopes he had any information on Danzo that wasn't public knowledge.

He didn't.

Now, they're trying to figure out what to do with him.

"We could just return him," suggests Juugo, holding said man onto his shoulder with one arm.

"Maa, maa," says Suigetsu, stretching his arms behind his head as he usually does. "We're a day's worth of travel from there. I don't see any point of returning there."

"It would be nice?" he offers. They ignore him.

"We could kill him," suggests Karin, shrugging. She is careful to stick by Sakura's side as they walk, occasionally brushing their hands together.

"I bet they have a nice prize money for him," grins Suigetsu. "We could take him back and get some cash in exchange."

The red-headed woman scoffs, pushing her glasses higher up her nose. "Baka, he would tell him we were the ones who kidnapped him."

"No, he wouldn't," he argued, turning to the man still hanging from Juugo's shoulder. "You wouldn't, would you?"

The man cries out from behind his gag. Tears water in his eyes.

"Maa, maa, I was just joking," says Suigetsu, but his eyes are still gleaming. "We're not gonna kill you."

The man relaxes.

"Probably."

He begins to cry again.

Sakura smiles a little despite herself.

"Please don't make him pee on me, Suigetsu," sighs Juugo.

He only grins and laughs. "Not my fault civilians are so easy to scare."

"Just put him down, Juugo," Sakura instructs, pausing in her step.

Her teammate nods, slowly placing the man down at the foot of a tree. He scrambles away from them, pressing his back against the rugged wood.

"Don't look so weak," she says plainly, looking down at him blankly. "If you contribute to a war, don't be surprised if it takes you in turn."

He says something frantically, muffled by his mouth restraint. Karin steps forward and wretches it down. He cries out briefly, then looks between the four of them, eyes wide with horror.

"Well?" prompts Suigetsu, irritated, arms crossed impatiently over his arms.

He turns to Sakura. His eyes gloss over her long pink hair and he foolishly decides she is the safest.

He finally gathers enough nerves to speak. "And what do you think they would've done to me if I had refused?" he demands, voice weak and shaking. "They threatened to kill me if I didn't comply!"

Karin laughs and voices Sakura's thoughts. "You're barking up the wrong tree if you think you're gonna get any sympathy from us."

(Cowards had no place in the world.)

Something inside the man snaps. "You— you— _damn shinobi!_ Always dragging everyone else into your wars!" he shouts, eyes wild. "You care nothing for human life! You train your children to slaughter! You wage war on the world and expect it to bend at your knees!"

"And you are any better?" asks Sakura calmly, but there is a tinge of roughness to her voice. She narrows her eyes. "How many men have you sent to their deaths? How many have you sacrificed for your political power?"

The sun glints off her forehead protector in her hair. The man squints to see past the reflection, and then he throws his head back and _laughs_.

_"You,"_ he spits. "You, a Leaf Shinobi, lecturing _me?_ You are the worst of them all!" he laughs. "Your kind puts even the Mist to shame!"

Suigetsu wrinkles his nose. "Rude."

They ignore him. The man continues his tirade against her. "Don't think I haven't heard the stories," he spits. _"The Blood Leaf,_ where the streets run red with blood!"

(Blood... Leaf...?)

"You are _barbarians_ ," he hisses, teeth bared. (Perhaps, the foolish are brave, after all.) "You burn your own village and slaughter your own people! You harbor your military forces to control the will of others! You—"

She throws a kunai into his forehead suddenly. He falls against the tree, dead.

"Finally," groans Suigetsu, pretending to clean his ear with one finger. "He was getting annoying."

Karin scoffs, folding her arms haughtily over her chest. "The nerve! He was trying to flirt with a woman half his age when we found him!"

Sakura shrugs. "He's right, though."

"It doesn't bother you?" asks Juugo, eye brow raised questionably.

"It's not my village," she says, turning away. "It doesn't matter to me."

*

Huh.

Perhaps, he was right, though.

_The Blood Leaf._

She thinks to herself, eyes closed, smiling. _What a fitting name._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i... this took a seriously abnormally long time to finish i've probably rewritten this chapter at least twenty times and i'm still not satisfied with it. i don't think it really flows well and the transitions from Orochimaru to Hebi / Taka are weird :( sigh hopefully i get the next chapter out sooner . feel free to ask me if you have any questions !


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old and new secrets, and the solidification of Sakura’s ninja way.

When Sakura is sixteen, the Hyuuga annihilate themselves from the inside-out.

In hindsight, it was a miracle it hadn't happened sooner. The Hyuuga have had deeply running inner conflicts since the day they had split into branches and branded their children like cattle.

Branch House members had turned on the Head House, slaughtering them one-by-one. Once Anbu had arrived, the damage had been done. In the wake of the disaster, only five of the original fifty members had survived.

No one misses the striking similarity to the Uchiha clan massacre.

*

The world sighs with relief when she learns Hinata is alive.

*

When Sakura is sixteen, she has her first kiss. Her first _real_ kiss.

Karin is not like Hinata or Ino. She is not soft or gentle, but nor is she rough or bullish. She is demanding, but joyful all the same.

No, Karin is not like them. But, as Sakura is beginning to learn, with red hair like fire tangled between her fingers. Perhaps, that is alright.

*

"Let's break this down," she says, spreading the scroll across the ground. In the light of the fire, shadows dance across her face. The rest of her team look up to her, inching closer to watch as she speaks. "Now that we've started showing up on radars, it'll only be a matter of time before the Akatsuki start targeting us."

"They've captured Tailed Beasts one to three," Juugo speaks up, chewing on the inside of his mouth. The bird fast asleep on his shoulder snuggles closer to his neck. "They only seem interested in them."

"Primarily," agrees Karin, propping her shoulder up with her knee. "But if they have reason to believe we're a threat, they won't hesitate to take us out."

"—On a date?" Suigetsu offers helpfully, snickering behind his hand.

Karin punches him.

Juugo sighs and Sakura ignores them. From the scroll underneath her fingers, the faces of the Akatsuki gaze up at her. "They travel in pairs, too. If we run into them, we're dead meat," she says, calmly.

The sound of her voice pulls their attention to her and they fall into attentive silence.

"Their numbers are also mystery. Currently, there are only four known, surviving members."

She points to the scroll. Six faces stare back, with only their names and former affiliations as information. Two of them are crossed out with X's in heavy black ink that sink through the paper.

"I handled Orochimaru," she says, "and Sasori of the Red Sand was killed by Sand-nin a few months ago."

Juugo moves closer to gaze down at the scroll. "Which one is their leader?"

"Unknown."

He frowns. Suigetsu stretches, yawning. "They all wear those black and red cloaks, so they should be pretty easy to spot, right?"

"Presumably."

Juugo turns to her. "Flee on sight?"

She rolls the scroll back up, binding the contents with string. They watch her curiously. She stands up. "We'll see."

*

Karin's hot breath fans against her neck, warm and intimate. Wild red hair blinds her. The wall is solid and cool against her back, a stark contrast to the warm body between her legs.

The other girl presses her lips to her neck, quick and warm, before biting down harshly. Her hands tangle in the mused pink hair at her access.

Sakura can practically feel her shaking with excitement against her. She shifts her eyes to the ceiling, eyelids fluttering open and closed. She silently lets the red head assault her neck and senses. A small grunt escapes her lips, then Karin pauses, and smiles against her neck.

Then she moves and presses their lips together, slipping her hands underneath her shirt. Karin's hands are warm like fire against her skin and make her head fuzzy with pleasure. Her own hands slip to the other's thighs, grasping at the aching heat.

Karin's scars are rough against her skin.

_Do you like me any less?_ she had asked, covering her shame with her usual attitude.

_No_ , was all she had said. And it had been the truth.

Sakura cannot love. Can not afford to.

But she figures just tonight will be alright.

*

Suigetsu laughs suddenly, stopping in his tracks. He throws a grin over his shoulder to her, pointing at the poster in front of him. "Hey, Sakura, get a look of this!"

She steers toward him, ignoring the odd looks casted their way. Her long pink hair swishing behind her.

Nailed onto the wall, on peeling yellow paper, is her face. Her old face. It's her mission registration photo. The one she had taken nearly four years ago. Her eyes are large and sparkly, excited and young. Her smile charming and naive.

(What a fool.)

She eyes the poster with disinterest.

Karin sequels and rips off the wanted poster from the wall with blinding speed. She clutches it to her chest, muttering a mantra of squeaks and mutters.

Sakura sighs a little to herself.

"You sure do have a nice bounty for your capture," Suigetsu teases.

"Never encountered any Anbu."

She peels her eyes away from Karin's excited form and shrugs.

"Probably too busy with the Civil War to send them out," offers Juugo.

"They need a new picture."

"Still," Suigetsu smacks his lips together. "70,000 ryo isn't bad."

She turns her back to him. "Don't even think about it."

*

The explosion knocks her off her feet, sending her backwards from the clearing into the forest. She is just able to throw up a shield of chakra on her back, before it collides roughly with a tree. She crashes through a row of trees, snapping them in half from the force. Until finally, she falls to the ground, huffing and wincing with pain.

(Dammit. Dammit...)

"Ooh!" cries the masked man, throwing his hands up in excitement. "Nice one, Deidara-senpai!"

She growls and flings a kunai in his direction. He shrieks, diving to the ground to avoid its aim. It makes a small 'plunk' as it lands in the tree.

"Deidara-senpai! Help me!"

Her eyes narrow. (Does he think this is a joke?) This guy can't honestly be an Akatsuki member.

Deidara groans in annoyance, limping towards her. He's clutching his hand to his stomach, as blood blossoms like spring through his shirt. His robes long destroyed.

He grits his teeth. "Shut up, Tobi."

Tobi shuts up.

Sakura shakily raises to her feet, heavy breaths escaping from her mouth. Her hair sticks to her face with sweat, and she pushes it out of the way, annoyed. Then with a shushin, she's in front of him, smashing the ground to bits at his feet. He is lucky to miss the blow.

"We're not done here," she promises, eyes narrowed darkly. Her form sways slightly in the wind.

"Actually, we are," he grins cockily, side glancing to his partner. "Tobi, get out of here. I'm going for the big one."

Even behind his mask, she can feel his eyes widen, and he slaps his hands to the sides of his mask, gasping dramatically. "You don't mean—"

"I do."

"Be careful, Senpai!" he shouts, then he is gone, screaming and running off in the opposite direction.

Sakura wheezes, struggling to catch her breath. Her hands grasp tightly onto her knees. "You guys," she spits, heaving, "are a _joke_."

The blond throws his head back and laughs. His remaining arm curls around the singed fabric of his shirt. His shirt turns to tatters in his hands as he rips it from his body. The mouth on his chest bares its teeth at her, growling animalistically.

She laughs weakly, voice straining against the pain in her back. "Freak," she comments.

He lunges and she dodges. "Teme," he says, shaking. His eyes are dark with rage. The wound on his stomach continues to bleed profusely down his abdomen. "I'll show you the meaning of _real_ art!"

The mouth on his chest snaps its teeth barbarically. From its jaws, blinding white light emits.

" _This_ ," he spreads his arm, eyes gleaming, "this is real art!"

Her eyes widen. (That freak, he's going to—)

She slams her bleeding hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

*

When she had awaken, it was to a cool, dark cave and a pounding headache. New bandages were rough against her clammy skin, heavy and plenty, like a second layer of clothing. Her hair damp with sweat and blood, and the edges singed from the explosions. From the shadows, he had stepped out.

_Tobi_ , Deidara had called him.

_Madara_ , he had introduced.

It's a name she's only heard in Orochimaru's scrolls, moldy and older than herself. A name as old as the age of shinobi.

_Uchiha Madara._

"Impressive," he speaks in a deep, rumbling voice, deeper than any she's ever heard; a stark contrast to the squeaky voice he had used earlier. She watches him with narrowed eyes, body still too sore to move from her make shift bed. Madara calmly pores a cup of tea, thin white smoke floating from the cup's edges. "I never would've expected anyone to use Manda as a shield."

He places the cup near her head. Her throat is sore and dry, but she is not foolish enough to drink it. Her palms sweat as she grips the scratchy blanket, thinking.

It's not possible for him to be alive. The First Hokage had killed him, left him for dead at The Valley of the End nearly a hundred years ago. She had studied under Orochimaru, a man desperate for immortality, and knew of just how futile and fantastical his dream had been. It's impossible for him to be sitting here in front of her.

At least it should be.

(But then again, if anyone could conquer immortality, it would be the man before her.)

Her arms shake as she pushes herself into a sitting position. She presses her back into the rock of the wall and exhales. It is cold against her skin, soothing against her suspicions.

"What do you want with me?" she asks, eyes narrowed.

"Blunt," he comments, standing up. The shadows of the torch fire dance on his Akatsuki robe as he turns his back to her. "I've been keeping an eye on you for a while, Haruno. Needless to say, you've sparked my interest."

She thinks of Orochimaru. (They always do, don't they?)

He turns back to face her, suddenly the bright orange of his mask is unmistakably ominous. "I believe we can help each other."

(She's heard that before.)

She smirks, lowering her head. Pink hair falling into her face. "Orochimaru once told me that too," she says, raising her head. Her eyes gleam maliciously in the light. "And now look where he is."

Madara ignores the threat, crossing his arms, and leaning his back against the cool wall of the cave. "Do not compare me to that imbecile," he threatens. "Then again, thank you for taking care of him," he pauses, but there is no gratefulness in his voice. "He was beginning to become a problem."

She curls her fist in the sheets, eyes still narrowed. She raises her chin haughtily. "To you or Akatsuki?"

"I _am_ Akatsuki," he corrects.

(She's growing impatient.)

"I'm not going to ask you again, _what_ do you want with me?"

The legendary shinobi cocks his head amusedly at her. "You are in no position to fight, Haruno. Your fight with Deidara left you with a three broken ribs and multiple first degree burns."

Sakura turns away from him, scowling. Her bandaged hand moves to caress her aching chest. _Bastard_ , she thinks, seething.

"I have some information I'm sure you would find interesting," he speaks. His low voice almost seems to echo in their surroundings. "It comes with a price, of course."

She drags her nails across the bandages across her arms. They are rough and unpleasant against her skin, poorly and unprofessionally wrapped.

It always comes with a price, doesn't it?

(But then again, she has long since grown accustomed to paying it.)

" And what would I have to do for you?" she challenges, shifting her head towards him. Her eyes watch him carefully.

"Nothing much. Join Akatsuki and your debt will be paid."

(Her heart skips a beat.)

She tilts her head back and laughs humorlessly, propping her arm onto her knee. "I just killed your subordinate— and now you're trying to recruit me?"

"Deidara's fate makes no difference," he answers. "He served his purpose, albeit it short."

"And my purpose? Why do you want me on Akatsuki?"

Madara pauses. For a second, she waits for his attack. But then he pushes himself from the wall, turning his back to her. His cloak swishes as he moves.

"I need a certain Leaf burned."

He is far too calm for a man planning to destroy his own legacy.

"Don't waste your time," she says. "The Leaf will destroy itself without my help."

The old shinobi chuckles, a deep noise that fills the cave. Terrifying, but alluring, the kind woman would swoon and trip over their own feet for.

"Is that what Orochimaru told you?"

She is silent.

"What an idealistic fool."

She narrows her eyes. "And what the hell do you think will happen? Do you honestly think the Leaf will recover?"

"With time, even life arises from ashes," he speaks. His gloved fingers drag across the jagged wall of the cave, then he turns to her. "Especially in Konoha."

(What is he getting at?)

"You are a former Konoha-nin. You should know. It is their purpose. Their Will of Fire."

She pretends to pick at the bandages on her hand. She briefly wonders how she healed so quickly. He watches her carefully, one unconcealed eyed narrowed and unmoving.

"It is a philosophy created by my old rival, Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage. It is the will of the Senju. That Konoha is an untouched heaven. That no matter the crime, it is worth protecting... As long as it lives, Konoha will too."

She curls her hands roughly.

"They blindly sacrifice their lives for it, claiming brotherhood amongst all, while turning their back against those unlike them. Konoha will live as long as its people do, no matter the blood shed. When they die, the Leaf will be buried alongside them."

"I'm not killing them," she snaps, hissing, eyes narrowed. The senselessness of his desire sounds all too similar to the one that had taken her parents. She will not do the same.

On shaking legs, she begins to stand up. Pain shoots up from both legs as she places weight on them. She leans heavily onto the wall, gritting her teeth. She refuses to show weakness, especially in front of this man.

"I don't care for them, but I will not commit meaningless slaughter. I'm only interested in the death of one man."

"Danzo."

"Hn."

"And what happens after he dies? Konoha returns to peace?"

"I don't care," she grunts, willing her voice to not strain. "My family and sensei will be avenged. What happens after doesn't matter."

"Think about it," he insists, calmly. "The Hokage's job is to spread the Will of Fire, to continue on his legacy. With Danzo's death, another of him may just as well arise, carrying his same will."

"The Will of Fire," she spits, "is to protect the people of Konoha. Not to kill them. Danzo does not follow that ideology. He cares nothing for the people."

"He doesn't," he agrees. "He will sacrifice his people to protect his walls. That is his Will of Fire, his dedication to Konoha, regardless of how twisted."

Through sheer determination, she limps to the chair pushed in the corner. She collapses on it immediately, cool wood pressing into her burning skin. She hisses softly.

Madara begins to speak again. "Konoha is a danger to worldly peace. Their Will of Fire blinds them. Only with them gone, can the process of true peace begin."

"Peace," she echoes, dizzy. She curses herself for pushing her body so far so quickly.

(What is peace?)

She throws her head back and laughs. "You, what would you know of peace? You lead Akatsuki."

"A group dedicated to attaining global tranquility by creating a new world," he says. "A world without war and Hidden Villages."

"You founded Konoha," she persists. "Why destroy it?"

"Even in my time, Konoha was built upon the sufferings of the Uchiha."

She knows he is indulging her. There is no other reason he continues to speak.

"The Uchiha were widely-respected," she argues. "No one would have dared to cross them."

"They wouldn't, but hardly out of respect," he pauses. "You know of the Kyuubi Attack?"

Her eyes narrow.

"Sixteen years ago, the Nine-Tailed Fox fell upon the earth. To stop its wrath, the Fourth Hokage gave his life. The village mourned his death and felt the blow deeply— but with all the tragedy that had occurred, someone had to take the blame."

She closes her eyes. She doesn't like where this is going.

"The Uchiha fell under suspicion, because of the Sharingan's ability to control Tailed Beasts. They were relocated to the edges, the backwoods, of the village. They were isolated, harassed, sealed away."

"Stop," she says, softly, finally.

He only continues. "They became resentful... hateful of Konoha and its people, of the very village they had once founded. And when the prejudice became too much, they sought a solution— and the answer was simple enough. They sought to change their status, their treatment, with the overthrow of one man.

But even with extensive planning, complications quickly arose. Through the midst, a double agent came to be. A child, a young prodigy, pressured by his clan, and manipulated by his Hokage. On the night the coup was planned, Danzo gave him an option: his village or his clan. Peace or a revolution—"

"—You _liar_!" she roared suddenly, knocking chair to the ground as she stood. She knows who he is speaking of and she doesn't like it one bit. "Itachi was a monster! A psychopath! He cared _nothing_ for life! _Nothing for peace_ —!"

"—What I speak is the truth," he says. "Uchiha Itachi massacred his clan by order of the Fifth Hokage."

"— _I don't believe you_ ," she seethes.

Uchiha Itachi was a child soldier, a prodigy who broke from the stress, who wiped out an entire minority in one night. He killed his own kind like pigs to the slaughter, children and babies, his cousins and parents. He left his little brother in coagulated blood, clutching the tattered remains of what was once their parents, and had provided no explanation but a simple "because I wanted to".

He was monster, there was no other putting it. But he was a monster with no association to Danzo. He had done what he did by his own choice.

Alone.

Behind his mask, Madara's irritation grows, like a swelling storm. Sakura is poking at a beast. She should be wise to how she steps.

"Then look again," he challenges, "at another clan. Just the same. The Hyuuga. A prestigious dojoutsu clan, praised for their power, but separated by prejudice. Enslaving their own children and binding them to service. It is a miracle in itself the Uchiha died before them."

She snarls.

"I'm sure you've heard the story. The Branch family, tired of the subjugation, violently turned against the Main House. They slaughtered each other one-by-one. For every Branch member that fell, they took a Head member with them— but there is more to the story... Their demise was not like the Uchiha, who had been murdered in silence at the borders of the village. They were in its very center and others were quickly alerted. By the time the Anbu arrived, the damage had done, but they were in a war and sought to create more. And by order, killed the remaining Branch members."

A wave of nausea overcomes her suddenly, and she stumbles back to the chair on weak legs. Madara watches her, picking his next words carefully.

(She is an open scroll and he has memorized her writings.)

He walks to her, sandals echoing against the cold, stone walls. He stops in front her. "This is what Konoha has become," he says, finally. "The Konoha of now. There are more Danzo has sacrificed, unnamed faces and forgotten grave stones. His Anbu are his puppets, well-trained and loyal. When he is dead, one will simply replace him. Killing him is simply not enough."

He leans closer.

"Danzo is a _disease_ , a plague, a virus, that corrupts endlessly. And all of Konoha is tainted. None of them are free from his influence," he hisses, feigning shared pain. "Not the rebels, not the civilians, not the children or their parents. Konoha is Danzo's playground. To stop him, the Leaf must go too."

She closes her eyes. His words are too much to process. It is not her tragedy, but she bares the grief the same.

For Sakura loves just as strongly as she hates.

"Do you understand?" he asks.

She opens her eyes and looks straight into his Sharingan. "Crystal."

*

When Sakura is sixteen, she mourns. Mourns for the child who had been used to solve adults' problems. Mourns for the boy who had been left alone and had taken his own life as consequence. She mourns for her friend, an outcast of her clan, but had witnessed their deaths all the same.

The waves crash against the rocks where she stands. Taka flanked at her sides, perfectly safe. Madara only a step away.

It is Danzo's fault. All of it.

He is the reason why her parents are dead and Kakashi is six feet under. He is the reason why Hinata is an orphan, with only Hanabi as her real remaining family. He is the reason why Itachi had given his life and his own clan for the sake of peace. He is the reason why Sasuke died alone, surrounded by only the ghosts of the past.

He is the reason why he's not here today.

She will strike him back. She will kill him in their place. She will avenge them, for their pain and her own. They may not be her tragedies, but she will carry them like they are.

This is her nindo. Her ninja way.

No matter the cost. No matter who has to die. No matter who's life has to be sacrificed, wether it be her's or someone else's. No matter how many years it will take, wether it be a year or a life time.

Danzo will die— and she'll make sure he takes Konoha with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered continuing the chapter but it just felt right to end it here y’know? The changing of times. I feel like Sasuke truly began to lose himself when he came into contact with Obito and I want to be the same with Sakura. This was a bit of a lighter chapter but I hoped you guys liked it anyways :) there’s a lot more to come


	5. five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An intruder in the Village Hidden in the Rain and the Five Kage Summit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deleted and reposted this chapter so if you’ve seen it already i’m sorry sfjfjs canon timeline begins to diverge here :0 please enjoy

Sakura is sixteen when she joins the Akatsuki.

She has dedicated her life to being a shinobi. Joining is an honor she is not foolish enough to miss.

*

When she meets Nagato, it is by Madara's will, as all things in Akatsuki are. They meet in the Village Hidden in the Rain, with Taka not at her sides and the steady beat of rain against the walls.

His eyes are even more disturbing than the six corpses flanked at his sides. The eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. The Rinnegan. A fairytale, one she's only heard in old children's books.

And yet, here it is before her. In multiple bodies, nonetheless.

Nagato is a deathly thin man, suspended only by the metal contraption behind him. His hair is dark and unclean, but even covered in dirt, it is a startling deep red.

Seven figures stand in front of him protectively, warningly. All but one is similar. Six of them have bright orange hair and eyes just like their master. Piercings cover their faces and odd metal bars protrude from their bodies.

(The Six Paths of Pain.)

The woman, the seventh of them, speaks first. "Madara," she says in a velvety voice, smooth like silk but dark like red chocolate.

Konan is an older woman, but beautiful all the same. An origami flower is tucked into her simple purple hair. Her eyes watch her carefully, as the skin on her cheek peels slowly like paper. A warning.

"You have brought a stranger here," she demands. "Why?"

"She is a member of Akatsuki, just as you, Konan," says Madara, dismissively, then smiles behind his mask. "I'm sure you'll take a liking to her."

*

She wonders the Village in Rain for weeks, irritably and curiously. It is the first Hidden Village than her own she has ever known.

But Konan and Nagato do not trust her.

(But they will around, as all people do.)

*

And when they do, it is Nagato who speaks the most. He talks of a cursed world, of a humanity that cannot be trusted with its own freedom. He speaks of unification through the Tailed Beasts, the destruction of Hidden Villages.

She thinks he is foolish to believe peace, even through someone like him, is possible. But his ideas are interesting and she soaks them up like ground to rain.

"If you don't share someone's pain, you can never understand them," he speaks. "Through pain, humanity will finally understand the futility of war."

And she closes her eyes, hand pressed to one side of her face. She listens intently, with her feet crossed, and Konan by her side.

And she agrees.

*

She will teach Danzo and Konoha her pain. They will learn her grief as if it is her own.

*

The rain pounds against the metal tower, overshadowing her own thumping heartbeat. She squeezes her eyes shut, pressing the rough pillow closer to her ears. The shadows and wind seem to mock her.

Sakura is seventeen when she realizes that shadows move in the corner of her eyes.

*

Madness is very rarely a quick descent, after all.

*

Karin is more clingy and annoying than usual, the consequence of being separated from her for so long. The red-head excitedly intertwines their legs, ignoring how she grumpily tries to retract. She speaks of how disastrous Taka is without her, and Sakura sighs, allowing her.

After a short while, the pink-haired shinobi finally manages to pull herself from her. She settles Karin's head in her lap, dragging her fingers through her bright red hair, in a half-assed attempt to stop her from moving.

"It hasn't stopped raining since we got here," she speaks, scowling at the dark, raining sky as if it had just deeply insulted her. Knowing her it probably had. "Suigetsu is enjoying the weather."

Any happiness to Suigetsu is an annoyance to her, after all.

"Hn."

She pouts at her obvious attempt to avoid conversation. They sit in silence, watching the grey horizon of the village. As usual, it is Karin who breaks the silence. She tilts her head in Sakura's lap and stares up at her. "Hey."

"Hm."

"Be safe."

She raises an eyebrow. "Of course."

Her forehead crinkles with frustration, and she scowls. "You don't get it."

She rolls her eyes a little, annoyed. "Do tell."

"Madara," she grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. "He's not who he says he is."

Sakura's heart stops in her chest. "He's not an Uchiha?"

She pushes her glasses up her nose. "That's not the point."

She pokes her forehead irritably, scowling. "Shut up and get along with it, then."

Karin huffs, adjusting her glasses as she speaks. "His chakra is too young. Foul and toxic, but not nearly as old as he claims."

She falls silent.

"Not old enough to be Madara?"

"No."

Her suspicions had been right. And if Karin says that his chakra is not right, then she trusts her fully. She looks down at the red head, eyes hard and serious. "Do not tell the others."

*

Konan freezes when she asks her. For a second, she thinks she'll aim a paper bomb at her head.

"Where did you hear that?" she asks, calm as she always is, but there is a demand to her tone.

"Is it true?" she tilts her head, challengingly.

"Where did you hear that?"

"It's a suspicion of mine," she answers, stubbornly, because it's not entirely a lie.

Konan's face is too unreadable for her to understand. Her pale fist clenches and unclenches. "Do not confront him about this, do you understand?"

"Why?"

Konan turns to her, eyes claiming. "Do you really want to be the person to challenge a man who claims to be Uchiha Madara— and get away with it?"

Her eyes narrow.

The older woman's hand curls into a fist. "Do not do anything stupid, Sakura."

(She is not one to be ordered around.)

She turns on her heel and slams the door behind her.

*

She, of course, understands what Konan is saying. Regardless of who he says he is, anyone who impersonates such a man should be cautioned.

That does not make her any less unhappy.

*

She is becoming paranoid, she knows.

When she sees her own reflection in the window, she jumps and shatters it on instinct. Suigetsu raises an eyebrow at her. She storms off before he can say anything.

*

Sakura sits near Nagato in the tower. He is silent as he controls the six Pains. Konan had disappeared at the alert of an intruder. She stirs anxiously in the silence.

When she stands up suddenly, Nagato's purple eyes open. "I'm joining Konan," she declares, turning on her heel before he can answer.

She jumps from tower to tower, cold rain drenching her coat and hair. She can sense chakra pulses near the drainages and pipes.

She drops down from the roofs, foot steps echoing as she lands. In the distance, she can see one of Pain's summoning dogs sniffing the ground. She whistles to it and it trots up to her. In one of its three mouths is a metal headband. It bows its head and drops it in her hand.

It reads "oil" in Kanji.

A presence appears suddenly behind her. Before she has time to react, the summing dog disappears in a puff of smoke. A kunai flying past. She jumps back onto the ceiling, dropping the headband in the muddy water.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"

The fireball lights up the pipe way. Her enemy flies past it in a blur. "Maa, don't tell me there's another one," he complains.

She clenches her fist. "State your name."

"I don't have time for you, kid."

She snarls. "Earth Style: Stone Attack!"

Stone spears burst from every angle of the pipe. The enemy smashes through them in the blink of an eye, with strength and speed even she does not posses.

"Ninja Art: Toad Oil!"

( _Toad?_ ) 

She breaks from her spot, running from the blast before it seals her to the sealing. _Oil, huh?_ she thinks, smugly. She rips a kunai from her holster, slides a paper bomb onto it, and flings it behind her. The explosion is larger than she expects, knocking her off her feet. She curses to herself, struggling to her feet.

The end of the tunnel is almost near. She'll be able to fight better when she can see her opponent.

He appears suddenly next to her and knocks her back to the ground. He pulls her up roughly by her collar, and she grunts, annoyed.

Through the half-darkness, she can barely make out his face. Red markings cover from his eyes to his chin. His nose is large and oddly-shaped, covered in warts and moles. His white hair is long and spiky, untamed and wild. Where one arm once was remains a bloody and still bleeding stump.

The two large lumps on his shoulders shift.

His slit-like eyes search her face. "What do you know about Pain?"

She bares her teeth and spits in his face.

One of the lumps throws its head back and laughs. An old man's voice emits from its mouth. "Brat," he chortles and she leers.

"Jiraiya-chan," a woman's voice croaks. "Look at her headband."

She jerks her head back.

_Jiraiya_.

He steps closer to the tunnel exit, dragging her alongside. Her hitai-ate gleams in the soft tunnel light. She grunts, struggling harder.

Jiraiya lowers her to the floor, dropping her just above it. The roaring water outside seems to grow louder.

"You're Leaf."

She says nothing, glaring up at him breathlessly. Only someone of his caliber, only a Sannin or someone of equivalence, could slip through the impenetrable Rain.

"It's scratched through," speaks up the woman frog. "She's a traitor, Jiraiya-boy."

He casts her a downwards glance, sympathetic and fully of pity. It ignites a furious, angry fire in her stomach. She doesn't need his pity, or anyone's for that matter.

She is not about to be judged by someone who had left just as she had.

"Do not blame her, Shima."

His words strike through her lightning. She blinks up at him for a few seconds, startled, but it is quickly replaced. She clenches her fist in the muddy water beneath her.

(What game is he playing?)

Shima, the woman frog on his shoulder, huffs angrily and up turns her nose. The male frog sighs with exasperation.

Jiraiya kneels down to her level and she watches him carefully. He is a giant of man, all muscles and untamed white hair. The red markings of his face fade, and he blinks once, twice, and his slotted black eyes are normal. The warts on his nose are gone and the white stubble of his chin falls off like loose hair.

Her eyes narrow, but nothing can prepare her for his next words.

"I'm sorry."

She can't stop the small " _what_?" that escapes her mouth or the astonished expression that sweeps across her face.

"The Leaf..." he wavers, voice much softer and sadder, "was not always like this." Certainly not a voice she expects from someone as wild as the Sannin. "You are young, no? About Ino's age?"

(It's been a long time since she's heard that name.)

"How do you know Ino?" she demands.

He grins toothily. "Maa, she's my student. A bit unmanageable," he muses, as if it is an understatement. Her head is spinning.

Jiraiya of the Sannin knows Ino. Jiraiya of the Sannin doesn't just _know_ Ino, he's her teacher.

The jealaously strikes her like a branding iron, hot and painful. It is quick, but before she has the time to think of it, he speaks and blindsides her once more.

"I'm sorry it's come this far."

(Orochimaru _had_ said he was unpredictable.)

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

A flash of orange hair in the darkness is their only warning. Jiraiya is knocked out of the edges of the tunnel, falling to the outside of the pipes.

Tendo Pain, _Yahiko_ , walks past her, foot steps echoing ominously. He doesn't cast her a second glance.

"Six," Jiraiya gasps. "There are six of you."

"I have to say," he admits, "even badly injured, you still caused quite the ruckus."

She can feel Jiraiya smile.

She pulls herself to the edge of the tunnel, dirty water soaking through her dry clothing. The Six Paths of Pain stand on the pipes above, looking down upon an island surrounded by ocean. Jiraiya, bloody and injured, lays in the center. There are black metal bars protruding from his body. He coughs and blood splatters onto the pavement.

He grins despite it. "Don't tell me you've forgotten how good I am, Yahiko."

Sakura's blood turns cold.

"Or perhaps, Nagato?... Those are his eyes, after all."

"Who I am does not matter to you. What you know now will make no difference."

He chuckles. "We'll see."

She watches from the half-concealed shadows carefully, heart ringing her ears. Her eyes can barely follow the battle. _Ino, Ino, Ino_ , her mind chants like a curse in the flames of a bonfire.

The female toad disappears in a puff smoke. One of the Six Paths of Pain is lost. Jiraiya's wounds grow worse. He is hopelessly outnumbered.

(He is going to die.)

Jiraiya of the Sannin is going to die.

He lays against the bloodied pavement, metal rods protruding from every area of his chest. The remaining frog stirs against the ground nearby, injured, but there is nothing he can do.

The Pains turn their backs, satisfied with their work. But Sakura can still see him moving, a small twitch and just barely. His fingers agonizingly sear something into the back of the frog.

A series of numbers.

A code.

She lifts her head. "Pain!" she calls and they turn in their tracks to face him. Jiraiya curses under his breath. Fingers moving quicker, smoke rising from the frog's back.

He lowers his shaking hand, the message complete. He bows his head, but he is smiling. "I leave the rest you... _Ino_."

"Go."

An explosion sends the toad and his sage flying apart. The toad onto the rocks, moaning and crying out in pain. Jiraiya into the ocean.

A rod flies through the center of the toad's chest, pinning him to the rock. He wheezes, spattering blood onto the ground. The Pains approach him at their own pace, purple eyes watching the struggling summon.

"A message," one speaks.

"It is of no matter," says another. "It is not going anywhere."

Sakura finally regains control of her limbs and she pushes herself off the edge, landing next to them. She watches as Jiraiya sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor. She pulls her head away, staring down at the still miraculously alive frog.

She clenches her fist.

Tendo turns his back, "I believe you can handle the rest," and they are gone in a shunshin before she can blink.

She raises her foot to the toad's head and smashes him into the island. There is a sickening crack and then there is nothing. There is a crater where his head once was and slime on her shoe.

In the pouring rain of the of the most impenetrable village in the world, Sakura is left with her thoughts and the bitter sting of jealously on her tongue.

*

The jealously consumes her, gnaws at her like an infectious disease or a still hungry beast. It is blinding, fills her senses with rage, and cancels out all other thoughts. A single, narrow-minded emotion that digs its claw into her chest and makes her mind numb with furry.

She has worked so hard to come this far. Has sacrificed the remains of her youth, abused her sensei's corpse, left her parents' bodeies and funerals behind. She has come this far because of her pain, because of her tragedy, her allegiance to vegence.

And where has that brought her?

A half-fledged Akatsuki member, no closer to her goal than the day she had started. Danzo continues to slip further and further away. Madara— Tobi, whoever he is— ropes her deeper into his plans. She is a tool to him and nothing greater.

Is this her life now? Living under the obedience of powerful men, feeding their goals, with the decreasing chances of her own? She has sacrificed so much to be the best, but she didn't have to.

She goes through old newspapers for hours upon hours. She reads it all.

Ino Yamanaka, student of Jiraiya, key figure of the resistance.

Ino Yamanaka, _hero_ of the Hidden Leaf.

While Sakura struggles to move forward, Ino breezes through easily. A genin-skilled child even prior to entering the Academy. What would she know of her struggle? It doesn't matter if they're together or apart, Ino is always one step ahead of her. Even now, even here.

She'll kill her so she can't get any further ahead. So that she'll finally be free of her mindless jealously and their one-sided rivalry. To prove once and for all, she is better than her.

The next time she sees Ino, she's as good as dead.

She'll make sure of it.

*

"Sakura," Karin smiles, outreaching her hands.

She steers away. "Not now," she snaps.

Karin has become a distraction.

(She's been keeping her from her real goal, _Danzo_.)

She pushes past her, shoving the large metal doors open, and ignoring her shocked, hurt expression. The doors bang loudly against the wall, slamming behind her.

Nagato and Konan look up at her.

"Where is Madara?"

Sakura's blood turns cold. "Hello to you too, _Sakura_."

She hadn't sensed him. Damn him.

He stands in the shadows of the room, arms crossed over his chest lazily. Through the darkness, the bright red of his Sharingan swirls ominously.

(Madara or not, he could not be trusted.)

She raises her chin. "Where is Danzo?"

"In the Leaf, I would assume."

"I'm leaving," she declares, turning her back. "I'm going after him."

In an instant, he is by her side, strong grip holding onto her arm. He looms above her and she narrows her eyes at him. "Why now?"

"I'm tired of waiting," she explains, simply.

"Sakura," Konan warns.

The kunoichi stares into the eye of the last Sharingan, unflinchingly. "You've been holding me back— and I'm tired of it."

His aura darkens. "I'd be careful how you speak. The only reason you're here now is because of me."

She sneers.

The air crackles between them, then he cocks his chin at her. "But if you really are so dedicated to dying, I believe an opportunity is in place."

And she is not one to turn down a challenge.

"When?"

"In two days, a Five Kage Summit, in the Land of Iron."

"I'm going," she declares, turning on her heel with no further arguments. She cares not for the consequences she will face later. She will die fighting Danzo if she has to.

"Oh, and Sakura?" he calls. Her hand pauses on the door. "Zetsu will show you the way."

*

"Aah, finally!" Sugietsu sings, spreading his arms as they follow Zetsu. "On the road again!"

"I thought you liked Rain," comments Juugo, still in child form.

"I do, but Madara," he blanches, "— man, that guy has a stick shoved up his ass." He laughs and glances expectedly to Sakura, expecting her commentary, but she is silent.

Juugo picks up the awkward silence. "What's the plan?"

Small white dots of snow decorate her long pink hair as it flows behind her. Her winter cloak is tugged across her Akatsuki uniform and her small calloused hands are covered with gloves.

She is not in the mood for talk.

"Sakura?"

"Danzo will be there to discuss the civil war with the other Kage," she speaks without emotion or a clench in her fist. "It will be too difficult to attack during the summit and we won't get there before it begins. We'll get him on the journey back to Fire. You guys will handle anyone in between."

Suigetsu opens his mouth to speak because he's an idiot.

Karin kicks him. "Shut up."

*

Her chakra grows hotter against her skin, a furious fire burning between her bones. Sakura grits her teeth, snarls, and pushes forward through the samurai.

Things never go as planned, after all.

"How'd they know we were here?" Suigetsu shouts, blocking the sword of his opponent.

Karin makes a half-smirk, half-sneer. Bright adamantine chains fly around her body in a blur. "Funny how they appeared just after Zetsu left."

Juugo clutches his head in his hands, groaning softly.

Dammit. Dammit.

Just this one fucking time.

Just this once.

She doesn't see Karin whisper to herself, horrified, with wide eyes. "Her chakra... it's— Incoming!"

"Haruno Sakura!" the Raikage booms, smashing through the ceiling with such ferocity. "You will pay for your crimes!"

(Just this fucking _once_.)

She slams her fast onto the floor, uprooting the ground. One of his bodyguards, the blond one, is sent flying backwards. She smirks. The Raikage charges.

Before she can react, he's in front of her, slamming her into the wall. It cracks from the force. His large bicep presses threateningly against her throat. His eyes dance wildly with lightning.

"My brother will be avenged!" he roars.

Juugo's stability finally breaks. He throws his head back, now high-pitched voice shrieking ecstatically. "Korosu! Korosu!"

A turns his head. She smashes their foreheads together. He doesn't fly half as far as she expects, but he crashes into one of the columns.

She forms the seals quickly. "Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"

He slips out of the crater and out of the way easily. He wipes a trickle of blood from his lip. "Your strength is great, girl, but it is nowhere near mine!"

She slams her hands into the ground. "Doton: Doryuuheki!"

A wall of earth rises from the ground in front of her, but with a swipe of his lightning chakra, it crumples. She jumps back to avoid his aim.

"I want nothing with you," she hisses.

"But I do!"

Juugo crashes into him, knocking him from his path. He laughs manically as A beats him near unconsciousness.

Sakura sees the opportunity for what it is. She grabs Karin by the arm and the other girl turns to her, eyes lighting up. "Sakura—"

"Which way?" she demands.

Her eyes dim. She gestures down a nearby hallway. Sakura grabs her and runs.

"They're getting away!"

She smashes the entrance close behind them.

"You're hurt."

" _Move_."

The summit room grows closer. Karin ducks into an empty, nearby room.

"She's here!"

The kage and their bodyguards gaze around them.

"The ceiling!"

Sakura stares them down, long pink hair falling like a fan behind her.

They stare at her, but she's only looking at one man. Danzo opens his eyes slowly, gazing up at her.

(She's waited her whole life for this moment. )

The General jumps from his position, swinging his sword at her. She blocks it with a kunai, but it is sent flying out of her hand. He aims again and she dives in, slamming her fist into his chest. He rockets painfully into the ground, coughing.

"Mifune-sama!"

The Kazekage is next to attack. He is an old, slow, and feeble man. He is not of the Kazekage clan, and as such, does not possess their sand control. She slips past his defense easily, knocking him to the ground.

She'll kill the kage to get to Danzo.

She'll kill _all_ of them.

"Arrogant child!" the Tsuchikage roars, but is restrained by his bodyguards.

"Such young beauty," muses the Mizukage, chewing like gum in her mouth. "A shame you have to die."

She spews balls of lava at her. Sakura dodges them gracefully, but is too slow for one of them. A few blotches of rock meet her side, burning through her clothes and skin. She hisses. clutching her side. The Mizukage jumps. swinging her leg, knocking her to the dirt.

The Tsuchikage is raised to stand on the desk. His legenday jutsu glows brilliantly within his hands. "Since your Hokage isn't capable, I'll handle you myself!"

Her eyes widen.

"Tsuchikage-sama!"

*

There are voices slurred against the pounding of her head. There is her heart, beating loudly, concealed within her chest. There is the hard wood desk, cold, against the scorching burn on her side.

She groans, tilting her head. Karin sits next to her, glowing hands hovering over her aching wounds.

But for once, she is not looking at her.

"This is my plan," speaks Madara. "My project Tsuki no Me."

"So, the rumors are true," grins the Tsuchikage through a sneer. "You really are mad."

"I want just the same as you. Peace, a world without pain."

"What you speak is a world without will," defies the Mizukage, brown hair flowing graciously behind her. "An illusion at your mercy."

"The perfect world."

"The perfect lie."

"No one would have to die, not a soul— civilian, samurai, or shinobi alike. The world slips into a slumber and lives the perfect dream," he says. "I call that mercy."

" _Kono ero_!" growls the Raikage.

(No one sees Danzo or his men slip through the door.)

"And if we do not comply?" challenges the Tsuchikage.

"Then, so be it," he stands. "Then, I declare war on the five great nations."

" _What_?"

"War?"

"The Fourth Great Shinobi War."

"Now, wait just a minute—"

"The next time we meet will be on the battlefield... kage."

"Madara!"

He looks down at her. "You have some unfinished business, _Sakura_."

*

Madara deposits them at their landing, before disappearing to a cliffside to watch. Karin offers her arm to her and she bites it, exhaling as the chakra rushes into her system. The burns on her side heal and fade into nothing.

The water beats steadily against the bridge, like drums to a count down.

This is her final moment.

This is where her whole life has led her.

"Hokage-sama," one of his guards warns.

He turns. "I'm aware."

She withdraws a kunai. The wind picks up around them. "You took everything from me," she says.

He stares back, unblinking. "I don't even know who you are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know i say this every chapter but i really am sorry it takes me so long to update :( i want them to be perfect or at least near perfect when i post them . I started online school this week and it’s honestly kinda kicking my butt so it might be a little while again :( this story actually turns out to be way longer than i was originally planning but i’m Glad i really enjoy writing this — and the upcoming chapters will be really exciting i promise !! No filler :) As always thank you for reading comments and kudos are appreciated! I’ll answer any questions you have


	6. six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter: Hinata and Ino

"You took everything from me."

A heartbeat.

"I don't even know who you are."

* 

There is rage, blinding like a hot iron and choking like a garrote wire. It makes her mind fuzzy with only one word chanting in her mind.

Kill.

Kill.

_Kill._

It is like this: Humans spend their whole lives searching for a purpose. Most never find it.

But shinobi are different. Shinobi dedicate themselves to a master or a cause.

This her cause, her purpose.

This is why she left Konoha. This is why she betrayed Orochimaru, joined Akatsuki.

For _this_.

This is where her path of revenge has led her, after all these years.

And she will not begin to fail now.

*

She flips the kunai in her hands. His guards draw their swords.

She blinks and one of them is in front of her, swinging down their katana. Their stomach is open and she slams her foot into his ribs. There is a sickly crack and he smashes twenty feet away into the nearby pillar.

The second swings at her. She ducks, sweeping her kunai at him. He jumps back to dodge, just as a cloud of insects shoot forward.

(An Aburame.)

She inhales, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" , and they are set up in a fiery blaze around her.

The remaining bugs lurch back suddenly, forming a protective shield around their master and his master.

From the cliff top, Madara watches the battle through his swirling eye.

She smashes her fist into the ground, uprooting pieces of the bridge. The Aburame knocks away ruble from hitting Danzo.

Her eyes narrow.

(Coward.)

"Stop hiding behind your subordinates and fight me!"

He cocks his head amusedly, quietly. He says nothing.

She growls.

A chakra presence emerges behind her.

The first guard, recovered, aims to strike her. She blocks it with a kunai.

She twists in the air to kick him, when the quickly healed skin on her wounds rip on and she gasps painfully, clutching her hand to her side.

She skids clumsily out of the next swing. He kicks her in the side to the ground for good measure.

Blood drips down from the cut wounds on her face and she falls with a grunt. She rolls over to dodge the next strike. She kicks him in the stomach, grabs him by the collar, and flings him at the others.

"I'll kill you," she spits onto the ground.

The guards surge forward at once. She drops to her stomach. The swordsmen slices into the Aburame's chest, cutting open his uniform. She swings around, kicking them into each other. They collide roughly to the ground.

The first guard begins to scream.

She smirks.

Small purple bugs swarm against his arm, where he had made contact with his chest. The Aburame gasps, clutching his chest, where they bubble from the surface.

(Rinkaichuu bugs.)

She turns to Danzo, blood streaking down her cheek and bleeding into her clothes. She lunges, but she is injured and Danzo is quicker. He kicks her to the side, but she rolls to avoid damage.

Sakura aims at him again, kicking and punching. Her kunai flies out of her hand and clatters uselessly to the ground.

He is quicker than she expected.

(She is running out of chakra. She needs to make her move.)

Her form shifts and breaks, distorting oddly. The sky turns to ink around them. From her body, crows break away, squawking and flying into the sky.

Danzo watches them with a careful eye, then turns.

Itachi gazes at him a careful, empty stare.

His eyes widen.

He pierces through the genjutsu.

Finally, he speaks his first words to her. "How?"

She tilts her head, sneering despite the pain. Arrogance floods through her veins as she grins. "I know about the Hyuugas, the Uchihas. I know you coordinated their demise. I know about Itachi."

A heartbeat.

Her smirk falls.

"I know about Sasuke."

She curls her fist.

"You killed him," her voice is beginning to shake.

Sasuke whose life was a tragedy. Sasuke who died alone.

Sasuke who never got to grow up.

"You killed him!" she roars and lunges. He bats her to the side easily and slams into the ground harshly.

He looks bored.

"I did no such thing. He and Itachi took their own lives."

(A funeral. A boy. A young, young, broken body.)

Sakura sees red.

  
“LIAR!"

She slams her fist into the ground and he flies into the air. "Very well," he says, adjusting the lock on his arm. He throws it to the side, it clatters to the ground loudly. "You're more difficult than I original thought."

He pulls down his sleeve.

Ten Sharingan stare back at her. 

Suddenly it all makes too much sense. Why Danzo had been so willing to let a prestigious clan die.

He killed them for their eyes.

Disgust and anger flood her system. "Teme!"

A figure slams into her, knocking her into the pillar. It cracks painfully from the impact. Danzo's clone, the one she had been facing, pops out of existence.

She pushes herself from the rubble, growling.

(She has come too far to fail now.)

She pours the last bits of her chakra into the jutsu. She wields the signs quickly, engraved into the back of her mind from years of training.

He watches her, unbothered .

The Chidori sparks to life in her hand.

His eyes widen.

She chuckles a little, darkly.

_Finally_.

"Do you remember this jutsu?" the Chidori chirps anxiously in her palm and she grins. "Who created?"

He glares at her.

Hatake Kakashi is not a name one easily forgets.

And she has studied this jutsu for years, reserved it all for this: All for this moment.

"I'll finish you with _his_ jutsu."

She runs it through him before he can respond. The added speed of the lightning too quick to avoid.

He coughs, chin crudely jutting onto her shoulder. His blood is warm around her fist. Her soul begins to sing.

Then the illusion fades and blinks out of existence.

Reality comes back crashing down. The Chidori fades from her hand. She turns to where Danzo is standing now, alive, uninjured.

_(No.)_

Her knees shake.

"How?"

A Sharingan on his arm blinks once, twice, then closes slowly.

"Izanagi," he speaks. "A forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan, with the power to change reality."

"But with the price of the user's sight," she says, staring at the closed eye. "That's why you have ten."

The wind picks up around them.

Orochimaru's voice fills her ears.

_If you ever fight him, you'll see._

He had warned her.

He had known and hadn't told her.

He was still screwing her over after his death. Damn him.

Damn him!

"I'll kill you," she sneers, promising, "as many times as it will take."

She'll kill him a million damn times, a million differnt ways.

Their eyes meet.

They know she is injured.

They know she is out of chakra.

(She's too close to end so soon.)

She forces the last bits of her chakra into her hand. The electricity tickles her with energy. She shouts and surges forward.

Danzo reforms next to her, knocking her like a doll to the ground.

"Foolish child," he sneers. "Only those with the Sharingan can wield such a jutsu."

Karin emerges from her hiding spot. "Sakura!"

She jerks her head up. His two guards, now recovered, swing down at her. She rolls out of the way. One of their kunai slashes across her leg. She hisses.

She rises to her feet. They catch her by the neck and slam her down. Sakura gasps, shocked. Her fingers fumble for a kunai and stabs into the nearest's chest. She kicks him off for good measure.

The second guard makes an all too familiar sign. "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Sakura freezes. Yamanaka.

(Ino.)

His chakra presses harshly against her soul, but she's fought this jutsu a thousand times.

He's thrown back into his body.

She lunges onto him before he can recover. She bashes her fists into his head, shaking, shaking. Her fists are turning red.

(She can't stop now.)

(She's come too far to stop now.)

The Aburame rips the kunai from his stomach, slashing at her. She knocks it from his hand, smashing their foreheads together.

He crumples to the ground next to his partner. Her body is running on autopilot, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

She loves her family too much to fail now.

She's sacrificed too much to fail now.

Danzo kicks her off them like a fly. "Get up," he hisses to his guards. "Get up!"

Karin is running towards her. "Sakura!"

She throws her arm out to her blindly and she bites down greedily, eyes widening as chakra floods through her veins.

Danzo is on them within an instant. Karin stiffens as he materializes behind her. He presses a kunai to her throat.

Her eyes stare, terrified, at her. "Sakura..."

"Yield," he says, "or the girl dies."

She watches him carefully. He's only steps away. He's within her reach.

"Don't move, Karin."

Her lover smiles.

She runs a Chidori through both of them.

Her heart is beating out of her chest. Karin's blood splatters across her face. Danzo jolts back in surprise. His form blinks out of existence.

Karin crumples to the ground, coughing. "You—"

Sakura rises to her feet shakily. The chakra the other had given her will last a few more Justus. Just a few more—

"Sakura!"

Suigetsu and Juugo are running up to her. She looks around for Danzo, but his chakra is gone and he has fled. They come to a running halt when they see the other on the ground.

She limps over to the dead guard, drawing his sword from the ground. Her blood splatters onto the ground.

Juugo carries Karin into his arms gently.

Suigetsu looks around. "Oi, what happened here—"

She swings at Juugo.

He jumps back, skin turning to armor where she had scrapped him. Suigetsu shrieks. "Sakura, what the hell-!"

These people have been holding her back.

This _team._

She's allowed them to distract her. Allowed Karin to swindle away from her goal, allowed her to think she could be _happy_.

There is no happiness. There is a broken girl, an even darker world. There is only suffering, only pain.

And she's failed.

_She’s failed._

Because of them.

She swings again, Suigetsu blocks her strike. Karin stirs, coughing, pushing herself up in Juugo's arms.

_"You,"_ she spits shaking. _"How could you—"_

"My goal," there is blood dripping down her chin and chest and waist. "You're stopping me."

Her familiar anger burns across them in her eyes. "Is this what we mean to you?" she yells. "Is this what _I_ mean to you?"

She stares back.

(She loves her mother.)

(She loves her sensei.)

(She loves them more than them.)

"Yes."

Karin is out of Juugo's arms in an instant, screaming. Adamantine chains swirling around her.

A flash of chakra.

A blur of muscle.

Long, midnight black hair.

Juugo throws himself in between them, coughing blood, as he falls to his knees. Karin stumbles backward, chains fading from sight.

The assailant turns.

Sakura's heart stops beating.

A face she had never expected to see again stares back at her.

"Hinata."

She has changed.

She is older, calmer, tougher.

Her short, black hair once choppy and uneven is graceful and long, flowing freely at her waist. Her light lavender eyes are hardened and trained. A narrow scar slips across her pale pink lips and a small purple diamond rests gently in the center of her forehead.

The tips of her lips twist into a smile. All Sakura can do is stare back in shock. Is this real?

Her heart is pounding.

_Hinata._

_Hinata._

There is more movement. A jonin, a man who is not Kakashi— and the whole world shatters.

Their hitai-ate are slashed through.

They're here for Danzo too.

Sakura is holding the sword to Hinata's throat before she can move. Suigetsu shouts and lunges at the both of them. Ino forms a hand signs in a blur and he crumples to the ground uselessly.

When Hinata speaks, it is almost not her voice. It is calm and unwavering, strong but gentle all the same.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asks.

(The moment is oddly reminiscent.)

A boy materializes next to the man and he tilts his head, smiling. "Isn't this a great reunion?"

"Sakura," speaks the man. "Do you really intend to kill Hinata?"

She sneers. "Don't act like I know you."

"Captain Yamato," he introduces, calm and unchanged. "The new leader of Team 7."

_(Leader.)_

She jerks her hand back to slice. A force slams into her side, knocking her away with a grunt. Blond hair blurs her view and then it is gone and Hinata is in her arms.

Her mortal enemy, her closest friend and her greatest enemy.

Her pale blond hair, once so beautiful and long, is short. Cut just above her shoulders. The blue of her eyes against the black of her eyeliner are intimidatingly sharp. The curves of her waist against her purple clothing are just as stubbornly bold as she is.

Ino turns to stare at her, shock and anger swirling in her eyes. She sets Hinata carefully down to the ground.

Sakura twists the sword in her bloodied hands.

"Yamato-taichou."

"She's not the Sakura you knew."

"She's my teammate. She's my responsibility."

Sakura sneers, and the man, Yamato, opens his mouth to argue. There is blood on her face and bleeding from her chest and covering her hands and arms but she _laughs._

"Don't act like we're still teammates, Ino," she grins. "I've been itching to kill you."

"No," she says without missing a beat. "I don't think you have."

"Excuse me?"

"The Valley at the End. You had the chance to kill me there— but you didn't."

She smiles. "That was three years ago," she gestures to the corpses of the guards at her feet. "Do you still want to bet on that?"

Ino draws a kunai. They launch at each other. The sword scatters from her hand.

Wood pillars shoot towards her, twisting and looping as she dodges.

Wood style.

(Impressive.)

Sakura hisses as she lands particularly harsh, pain spiking up her leg. Yamato watches her with careful eyes. Blood drips steadily from her chest to the ground.

"Danzo—" she gasps, _"—is mine."_

She won't let them have him. She won't let them have him.

She won't let them have him!

Ino stares back. "I know."

The wind shifts around them.

Hinata steps forward. She is confident, brave. So different. "Ino alone has tried to bring you back," she says. She is so different, so much older. She is calmed from tragedy, confident from pain. There is no sign of the girl she had once known. "She alone has never stopped considering you a friend."

And something about that hurts.

(Hinata had given up on her.)

The boy she does not know steps forward. His skin is pale like paper and his hair dark like ink. "Ino feels a deep bond to you, one I hope to understand some day. She alone has tried to save you, even now."

"Save me?" she chuckles but it humorless and empty, and sends shivers down their spines. "Save me from what? Revenge?"

The thought is so hilarious, so undeniably amusing.

_Ino_ lecturing her. Ino lecturing _her_.

She tilts her head, grinning. "Don't act like you're the moral pillar of the world, Ino. You're far from a saint."

Her stance remains steady. "I've never tried to be," she admits and her eyebrows furrow in anger, "but this has gone too far, Sakura."

"Too far?" she laughs, senses dizzy from blood loss. Her anger is biting and seething. "Were my parents too far? Kakashi and Sasuke and Hinata's clans too far?"

Ino grits her teeth. "Don't bring them into this."

"Was my civilian family too far?" she demands, shouting. "Konohamaru and Asuma and the Third Hokage? Were they too far?!"

She bows her head, short blond hair obscuring her face. "I swear to you, Sakura," she hisses. "I will stop you."

"Ino... I've already told you once before. You who has a clan can't possible understand me. You who was born a Chuunin!" she shouts. "What would you know of my struggle for power?— To stop Danzo above all else!"

Time has gone by, changed them both. They are rougher, older, stronger around the edges.

Things have changed, but this has not.

"So outsiders can keep their mouths shut!"

Ino's eyes narrow.

_This_ does not change.

The two launch forward.

It is like this: Sakura is desperate for power; a reason for existence, vengeance for her family, protection for her own being. But no matter how hard she works, she will always be standing in Ino's shadow.

Ino will always be holding her back.

Even now.

The blast sends both of them flying backwards. Hinata moves swiftly to catch Ino, Sakura smashes crudely into a stone pillar.

She coughs and blood splatters to the ground. Three high-powered fights in less than two hours. She is weak.

(She is _weak_.)

Ino stares at her, unwavering and untouchable. Nothing has changed.

But in her eyes, there is more she wants to say. A resolve, a promise, a confession.

( _From then on, you've been my goal_.)

(A smile..)

( _I'm really glad I met you_.)

"You can't change me," she says. "Nothing you say can change me."

The tips of her lips twitch upward. "I realize that now," she confesses. "No matter what I had said that day at the Valley would have stopped, brought you back."

(She doesn't have time for this mushy crap.)

"Enough," she spits, rising shakily to her feet. The world spins around her. "Fight me! Go back to the village as the hero who killed me or the loser who lost to me!"

Ino's short hair shifts in the wind.

She is devastating.

"I won't be the hero who kills you or the loser who is killed by you."

Sakura shrieks and launches herself forward, concentrating the remains of her chakra into her fist, and aiming for the other's head.

Ino sees her from a mile ahead, grabs her arm mid-hair, then swings her around and throws her right back to where she started.

Sakura lands painfully on to the ground, wheezing.

It hurts. Everything hurts.

She feels Madara appear next to her.

White Zetsu rises from the ground, wordlessly, pulling to her feet.

They're retreating.

Because she's failed.

Danzo is still alive.

.... She's failed.

"Do you remember what Kakashi sensei told us in the Country of Waves?" speaks the blond. "Why we had connected so deeply with Haku and Zabuza?"

Her mouth remains stubbornly closed. When had Ino become so emotional?

"Through blows, strong shinobi can understand each other," she points her hand to her heart. "Did you feel what I did just now?"

Madara watches her carefully.

Ino clenches her fist and the almost soft tone to her voice is gone. "If we fight, we both die."

It's hilarious almost, laughable. If Danzo could not kill her, what made Ino think she could?

"Your hatred is reasonable," she says, "everything you've done up till now is reasonable. I'm not asking you to give it up. Fester your pain, grow it! I'll carry the weight of your hatred alongside my own!"

Her teammates gape at her.

Her eyes are like steel. "I'm the only one who's strong enough to do it. You and I both know it."

"You," her hands are shaking, "you know nothing about me."

It is the truth, solid and unarguable.

Ino knew her as a child, when she had been foolish and naive, tied red ribbons into her hair and had thought the world was endless.

Time has passed. She has changed, dyed her colors a much darker hue. Has seen the world for what it is.

And Ino had not been there for it.

Any of it.

"Why," she shouts, "why are you so obsessed with me!"

She tilts her head and smiles.

"You're my friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m So sorry i know the wait wasn’t worth the chapter online school is taking up all of my time but it’s almost finished . Hinata and Ino have finally been reintroduced at least for now . I know Sakura with the Chidori doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but she’s not gonna be using it much anymore . Also Sakura and Ino aren’t supposed to be like Naruto and Sasuke, their relationship will be similar but nowhere near exact. I’m sorry for the short chapter


	7. seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again.

Sakura is furious.

She spends the first few days in a daze, swaddled in scratchy blankets in her lumpy bed in the Rain Tower. Staring up at the ceiling as her wounds healed, seething. It is like liquid fire in her veins. A tight constriction around her chest. A burning obsession that consumes every thought.

They thought they could break her.

It only makes her more determined.

She is wounded, pale, and sickly, but she shoves herself out of her bed. Throws on her clothes and storms out of the tower, cold rain dripping down her face.

She is furious, not just at Danzo, but at herself.

She hadn't accounted for the tunnel vision of the Chidori. She hadn't expected the existence of the forbidden Izanagi. She hadn't been able to isolate him fast enough, hadn't chased him after his escape. She had allowed Taka and her old teammates distract her, had allowed their old bonds to restrain her.

She had allowed her emotions to district her.

She hadn't been strong enough.

Hadn't been strong enough to completely relinquish her bonds, hadn't known all the right jutsus and the logistics behind them.

And Danzo had known it. He had refused to acknowledge her, like the gum under his shoe.

He does everything so thoughtlessly. Let's others die in his place. Orders the deaths of clans to shield himself. And it enrages her. That someone so careless exists, who treats everyone so below him.

No one else will face him, so she will. She alone will force him to order for his crimes.

She will be the one to provide his judgement. She alone will be his god. She is his judge, his jury, and his executioner.

And she will not fail a second time.

*

"Teach me," she demands. Madara looms over her like a shadow.

_Do not trust him_ , Konan had once told her a long time ago. But she does not care. This is the price she's willing to pay. Madara or not, this man is the most powerful person she knows.

His Mangekyou Sharingan swirls lazily at her, intimidating, challengingly. She lifts her chin in response, he chuckles. It is deep and menacing, echoing off the walls in a way that would've made lesser men run.

"You have some guts, gaki."

"I'm being serious."

"I'm aware. Give me one good reason why I should train you. You are not an Uchiha."

"And why should being an Uchiha be a requirement?" the tips of her lips twirk into a smirk. "I thought they betrayed you."

His eyes narrow.

"Teach me," she repeats. "I live in their name. There is no training, no jutsu too difficult for me to master."

She can almost hear him grin. He is playing her for a fool, she knows. But Sakura has become long accustomed to powerful men thinking she was weaker.

"Alright," he admits, calmly, casually. His easy acceptance almost catches her off guard. "Meet me here tomorrow."

She will play any part needed to reach Danzo, even this one, so she folds her hands in her waist and bows. "Thank you, Madara-sama."

She would punch that mask clean off his face if she had the chance.

*

She pauses against the doors, the metal cool to her skin. Madara stirs on the other side. "I'm not asking for an army, I'm asking for one."

Nagato's disapproval is nearly visible. "The jutsu is too large, too uncontrollable. To narrow it down to such a small number is impossible."

"No one alive knows the Edo Tensei. This is our last option."

Silence.

"Do you understand what I'm asking of you?"

He sighs. "Yes."

*

Sakura thinks of Ino, her old rival, her childhood enemy. The person she had sealed into the depths of her mind to leave.

Her "friend".

(Ino had smiled at her like they were ten again, innocent and young and unburdened. _You're my friend_.)

What a ridiculous notation.

They had fought all their childhood, talked even less. Had it not been for Kakashi's death, their destructive nature would've torn the team apart in time.

Sakura had never been her friend. She had been her inferior, her shadow. Her reminder that she had done good, taken in a lonely civilian child under her wing. Her savior, her hero.

They had never been anything more than classmates bonded together by grief.

Even if they had been friends, it was foolish, so, so foolish of her, to think that after all this time, Sakura would still feel their bond.

It was ridiculous of her to believe that she alone could be worth more than her family, than her sensei and Itachi and Sasuke. Their lives and their vengeance, their ability to rest peacefully, meant more to her than just one bond.

And even if she did, she could never carry the weight of her burden. It was something only she could carry and so undeniably foolish to believe that it could be shared.

Ino is no closer to understanding her now than she had been four years ago. Their paths have long since separated.

And, yes, there is the part of her that is astounded in the way she had changed. Her now short hair, the same hair she had refused to cut for years in Sasuke's memory. The green flack jacket she had once called ugly that she now wore as a proud uniform. The scratched Konoha headband that she had so proudly claimed in her youth. It was dizzying, odd, and wrong.

Because Ino was not someone who changed

Because this girl, this woman, who had once refused to speak of feelings like taboo, had just sworn to die with her, fighting her.

And Sakura hates her for it.

*

"You wish to honor the Uchiha," says Madara. "You have already mastered the fireball jutsu in their name."

They are standing in the blank, gray realm of his dimension. Sakura stands in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest, scowling.

He holds up a handful of shuriken. "Since you do not posses the Sharingan, their shurikenjutsu is the next best step."

She sneers a little, offended. "I already know how to throw them."

He arks an eyebrow blandly. "Your skill is nowhere near their excellence. Good for a regular shinobi, poor for an Uchiha."

He tosses them to her and she catches them with ease.

"Start from the bottom, work your way back up."

*

The Gedo statue looms morbidly across the room, stretching from shadow to shadow. She can barely make out its true size through the transmission.

Her form is weary and her concentration is wavering. She is tired. They have been at this for hours.

Finally, _finally_ , the last of the Nanabi is sucked from the host. The seventh eye of the statue forms, blinks, and vanishes. Its jinchuuriki, a beautiful blue-haired, young woman, falls emptily to the ground. None of them care.

Kisame yawns lamely. "Maa, these get longer each time."

White Zetsu glances at him. "We keep losing members."

"At least the zombie duo are gone."

"That is not something to celebrate," scolds Pain.

"Whatever."

"Sakura," calls Madara.

She turns. "What?"

"Let's go."

She cuts off the transmission.

*

He stares at her. "Your stamina is poor. Again."

*

She can make out the voices of him and Nagato through the metal doors.

"Leave the girl alone."

"She has asked me to teach her."

"She's not your weapon."

"She's already failed me one too many times to be."

*

She hates him.

She _hates_ him. She hates Madara. She hates Orochimaru and Danzo. These men who fool with others lives so easily, who treat her like a tool at their demand. She is not their weapon, not their slave. She is her own shinobi. She serves no master but herself and her burden.

When the time comes, she'll go for Madara too.

*

Time passes. Days blur into weeks, weeks into months. She runs missions for Nagato and Madara. She learns new jutsus and improves upon her old foundations.

The war starts. She doesn't care.

Their own forces are compromised primarily of White Zetsu clones, but they are weak and unstable. They need something stronger, regentivite.

The man who had claimed to be Kakashi's replacement, Yamato, stands in front of her. The giant turtle they are on is upside down and the exterior of its underside is rough and uneven. She is surrounded by two Leaf shinobi, two Rock shinobi, and the Tsuchikage.

Her luck has always been shit, after all.

"We meet again," sneers the kage.

She scowls, "Can't say it was a pleasure," and turns her head to men who could've once been her comrades. "What, one war wasn't enough?"

Their eyes narrow.

"What are you so arrogant for?" yells the Rock kunoichi, Kurotsuchi. "Just because you managed to kill Deidara-niisan doesn't mean you can take us!"

She rolls her eyes. "Please, he practically blew himself up."

She growls, exhaling. "Lava Release—!"

She slams her hands onto the ground. "Doton: Doryuuheki!"

The giant wall rises bursts from the ground. The lava bupples against it, melting holes into its foundation. Sakura jumps back quickly. A Leaf-nin launches at her and she smashes her fist into his chest. He flies back into his comrade, knocking them both down.

Kurotsuchi dives down at her, swinging her fist. She blocks, kicks, blocks. Then grabs the other kunoichi, brings her arm around her neck, and squeezes. She grunts in her grasp, kicking and struggling in her headlock.

Sakura sneers up at the Tsuchikage, but her eyes are gleaming. He stares back scowling. "What, no particle style?"

He wouldn't dare use such a jutsu with everyone present.

Wood shoots from behind her and she drops Kurotuschi in her haste. "You," she sneers, glaring at Yamato,rage flooding her veins, "you will never compare to him."

They aim towards her again and she twists and jumps to dodge. The second bodyguard, Akatsuchi, launches a jutsu. It skims her by the side, knocking her to the ground.

The Tsuchikage hovers arrogantly above her. "You're not getting anywhere near the Eight Tails again."

She flips him off. "Not here for him, old man."

His eyes widen. He is old and slow. She darts forward, snatching one of the extended wooden arms. Yamato stumbles towards her and she grabs him by the arm. A snake slithers from the twist of her clothing, biting into his neck. He goes limp in her arms. She slams her palm into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The giant turtle shifts. From the edges of the water, a giant black snake rises from the depths of the oceans. It hisses loudly, eyes glowing hypnotically. She holds Yamato's body to her side. The Tsuchikage aims flying rocks at her, but she dodges, leaping off the turtle's shell onto the giant summoning. 

She grins, "See you."

She sticks around long enough to hear Kurotsuchi's outraged shouting.

Her snake deposits them in the harbor of the Village Hidden in the Rain. She gives it one pet on the nose before she drops Yamato to the ground. The snake evaporates in smoke and she makes sure to land on his rib cage for good measure. He gasps painfully as her knee comes in contact with his ribs. A sickening crack echoes through the harbor. He tries to fight, but the venom is already in his system.

She hates him.

She breaks his nose.

She _hates_ him.

She blackens his eyes with bruises.

He could never replace Kakashi.

She splits his slip.

His blood is splattered across both of their faces. His chest moves up and down roughly with every breath. The rain is cold against her burning skin. "You—" she hisses, "— You cheap impersonation of the First Hokage—"

He gasps, scowling up at her. "I have no idea why Ino is so attached to you."

There is a sickening crack as his jaw cracks. He collapses limply into the dirt, breathing raggedly.

Madara emerges slowly from the shadows behind her. "Had your fun?" he asks.

"Would it kill you to knock?" she growls, smashing her fist into Yamato's face one last time.

Zetsu emerges from the ground next to her. He prods at Yamato curiously. "This should do," he agrees, glancing at Madara. "We should also be able to pull intel from him."

"Excellent."

*

They are standing in the remains of towns surrounding Ame. The clouds cast over them solemnly. The area is nothing but devastated rubble and wreckage. There is nothing, not a sign of life. Not a stray cat or the familiar hum of bugs. Just the eerie silence of an abandoned world and the hush of the wind.

Sakura raises her nose to the air and sniffs. It's going to rain.

It always rains.

Madara moves and finds a comfortable seat on top of a slab of concrete. He places his elbow on his knee and leans forward. "My plan," he speaks, finally, "is to bring an end to all of this." He gestures to the debris around them.

"End all wars?" she offers blandly, picking up a piece of glass at her feet. She raises an eyebrow. "Or bring peace to the world?"

(She's heard this speech before.)

"Yes," he agrees, "but not quite."

She waits for him to speak.

"Not just the wars, not just the destruction. When drugs flood the streets, do you go for the buyers?" he asks. "No, you go further— the point of origin. Stop it before it spreads. The same goes for our world. This shinobi system is the destruction of humanity— and it brings nothing but despair in its wake."

"You designed that system."

"And now it's time to bring an end to it."

She folds her arms over her chest. "Lemme guess. Attain all the Bijuu, abolish the Hidden Villages."

"That is Nagato's plan," he answers, blandly. "The Tailed Beasts have a far larger destiny than mercenaries. When they are all reunited, that is when true power can be attained. From them, a world-destroying creature will arise: the Ten Tails."

She rubs her thumb over the glass. It is smoothened with time and the rain. (Does he plan to destroy the world and rebuild it from its ruins?)

"The Ten Tails has enough chakra to power the ultimate weapon: a reflection of the Sharingan casted onto the full moon. It is the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the most powerful genjutsu in existence. Every human, animal, and creature will fall under its protection. They will live their own individualized worlds of happiness. No pain, no death, no war."

She tosses the glass and it shatters satisfyingly. She blearily recalls his discussion with the Five Kage. "That's what they meant _. The perfect lie_."

"You disagree."

She turns to him. "I don't care," she refutes. "I'll be dead before it happens. As long as Danzo is dead, I could care less about what you do with the world."

He smiles behind his mask. "That's good to hear."

*

Konan calls her into Nagato's chamber one day and she knows immediately the time has come once again.

"The Leaf is weak," he speaks. "Their forces are spread thin and dwindled from both wars. The Hachibi has proven more difficult than expected to capture. It is the last of the Tailed Beasts besides the Kyuubi. Konan and the Six Paths will be going to retrieve it."

Her heart beats rapidly in her chest.

"You are more than welcome to join."

"Danzo," she demands. "Will I have the chance to get Danzo?"

"If you can keep his forces distracted from our mission, yes."

"I won't fail."

His lip twitches into a smile. "I know."

*

The conclusion that it's real, it's real happening doesn't occur to her until she's standing on the walls of Konoha's gates. This is the place where her parents died, where Kakashi had become a martyr, where clans were murdered in the name of their Hokage. The place she had never sworn to return to until now.

She looks up at the carved rock face of Danzo. It feels surreal, less real than the last time they had faced. The village has changed, much of it is already barren and in ruins. There's not much damage left for Pain to inflict.

Konan shifts and jumps away, Sakura makes quick haste to follow. They're at the cemetery before she knows it. She feels foolish for having not realized it sooner.

Kyuubi hasn't regenerated in seventeen years. They're here for it the only way they know.

Konan inspects the graves at the front closely. Tendo and Jigokudou watch her patiently, waiting for the signal.

Her feet move on her own. It's been so long. It's been so long.

His grave is still well-tended to, flowers are still positioned at its edges. It's almost like nothing changed at all. Sakura drops to her feet and presses her hand against the cool rock of Sasuke's gravestone.

Rage pumps through her veins. She knows the truth now, most of it at least. Sasuke's life had been stolen. Wether it had been by Danzo's orders or his own accord, it didn't change the tragedy.

She wonders what he would've been liked if he lived. Would he have remained loyal to the village? Would he have joined Orochimaru with her to kill Danzo? Would she even have to carry his burden at all?

He should've lived.

He _should've_ lived.

"Sakura," Konan calls, jolting her from her thoughts. The grave at her feet is unburied. The small wooden box is open. Even from the distance, she can smell stench. "You'll want to see this."

She rises to her feet.

The Jigokudou path raises his arms and the earth rumbles beneath them. He closes his eyes in concentration. From the ground, the King of Hell rises.

She doesn't realize her knees are shaking. Everything around them freezes. The explosions in the distance have stopped and the wind picks up harshly around them. She shivers.

(This is... This is... unnatural.)

A beam of light shoots out from the King's mouth, hovering, then sinking into the bundle in Tendo's pain. There is silence, chilling, unnerving silence, until there isn't. A baby's wail pierces through the sky. It shifts uncomfortably in Pain's hold, crying loudly. Its bright blond hair is bountiful and its cheeks are marked by whisker-like scars.

(Sakura thinks he's cute.)

Tendo speaks to the child in a hushed voice, holding it an almost gentle manor. "Forgive me, Naruto. We will take care of you for the time being."

He looks to Konan and she takes him into her arms. He turns to her, but she is staring in frozen shock at the baby. Explosions rattle the village in the distance. His hand rests on her shoulder. "Your turn, Sakura."

*

It almost feels like Kakashi is watching her, judging her, looking upon her as she watches the baby in Konan's retreating arms.

_Is this what you're okay with?_

*

Sakura is seventeen when she watches Konoha in flames for the second time in her life, but this time she is the one setting it ablaze. She aims a few measly Katon jutsus at the buildings, careful to conserve chakra. She ignores the screaming civilians that emerge from the ruins. She has much bigger fish to fry.

She can see the Hokage tower now. She's close. So close. Everyone will be able to rest in peace soon. Soon. Just a little while longer.

Danzo's chakra stirs anxiously within the confines of the tower and she chases it like a cat to a mouse. She quips her fist and the exterior of the wall flies into pieces. She lands gracefully into the Hokage's office, Anbu arming themselves defensively. She shoots forward, half of them don't see it coming. She slams them harshly into walls, breaking necks and spines without so much of a raise of her pinky. She's far faster than them.

Danzo is moving outside of the building and she skids into the hallways, running after them. She doesn't look at the pictures of the former Hokages or the empty space where the Third's used to be. She does not look.

Her body is moving automatically. The adrenaline pumping through her veins almost makes her dizzy. The Anbu come but they are not enough to hold her. They are weary from war. She's just getting started.

She bursts through the front doors of the tower, eyes training on three retreating forms. "Danzo!" she shouts, "Face me, you coward!" She slams her fist to the ground and uproots the earth beneath them. They dodge, she body flickers next to them.

He turns to her. He looks older, sicker. He gazes at her with undisguised disgust. "Haruno."

Her eyes narrow. "You're not worthy of speaking my name."

She's half-surprised he even bothered to remember it at all.

Her eyes draw to the men at his sides. He still has two bodyguards. Always hiding behind others.

His bodyguards charge. She shoves her sleeves up, revealing two summoning seals. Giant shuriken land in her palms. She throws them.

They dodge. She pulls the ninja wire. The shuriken come hurtling back to her. One of them notices and jumps out of the way, the other isn't as lucky. They gasp feebly as a large shuriken imbeds into their back. She swings the wire, flying them to the side. The weapon falls from their back and they roll to the ground, bleeding profusely.

The other guard throws a handful of kunai, she dodges and catches one. She charges it with lightning chakra and flings it right back. They're barely fast enough to dodge. It zips past their face, skimming their cheek.

She slams her foot into the ground, earth shifting like an earthquake. Danzo stumbles. She zips forward. Her arm glows with a Chidori. Its form shifts, extending and shrinking until it was like a long sword. She swings down upon Danzo.

His eyes widen and he collapses to his knees. Blood dribbles from his mouth down his chin. His form blurs, shifts, then disappears. He re-emerges behind her. He stumbles, shaky finger unlocking the gauntlet on his arm. The eighth Sharingan blinks once slowly then closes.

She smirks. Three down. Seven more.

"Suiton: Mizurappa!"

The wave of water from the bodyguard catches her off guard. It slams her to the ground, drowning her in a quick burst of water. Sakura hisses, pissed, dripping wet like a cat. "Dammit."

"Suiton: Suiben!"

The water whip lashes at her. She dodges easily, then grabs it. It lights up with lightning as she streams her chakra into it. The bodyguard cries out, falling backwards.

She charges Danzo. He dodges and tries to a coat a genjutsu over himself, but she breaks it easily. She jumps, swinging her leg, and smashing it into his rib cage. It cracks audibly and he tumbles to the ground, gasping. She waits. The air around him shivers and he blinks from existence. He reforms not far away.

(Six.)

She just needs to make all fatal hits. He wouldn't dare continue fighting badly injured.

He slams his palm into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A horrible elephantine chimera, Baku, emerges from a puff of smoke. She does the same. Her hawk screeches into existence, descending onto the enemy with razor-sharp claws.

Danzo's summoning opens its mouth and inhales. The world shifts. A powerful suction shoots out, swallowing anything within range. Her hawk avoids it until its caught within. It struggles, scratching at Baku's eyes, who roars out painfully. Before her hawk could be completely consumed, it disappears in a puff of smoke.

She channels chakra into her feet so as not to be sucked in. She winces as the wind slams into her face, watching as rubble, buildings, and the two bodyguards are devoured.

Baku roars, stomping blindly, and nearly steps on Danzo in the process. It opens its mouth again. This time, she dives into the vortex.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The ball of fire falls into the suctions rage, blowing up in Baku's face. It howls in pain, then disappears in a powerful puff of smoke. She smirks.

"Futon: Kaze Shasen!"

She doesn't move fast enough to dodge the full blow. The blade of wind swipes across her right arm. She cries out in pain, holding it to her chest. The blood bleeds profusely onto her clothes.

"You're too cocky," says Danzo.

Sakura bares her teeth. She doesn't need both arms to fight anyways.

He sails a kunai towards her. It pierces her skin, then she disappears into a puff of smoke. He looks around, muttering. "Kage bunshin."

She emerges from the ground beneath him, knocking him to his knees. She grabs his throat with her still mobile arm. His windpipes crush underneath her touch and she relishes in the noise. Again. He disappears and remerges.

(Five.)

His swings his sword, slashes of wind like a blade attack her. They scratch her skin and rip her clothing. She applies a henge to a kunai while he is not looking. She throws it at him, he dodges, and it lands behind him. He does not see the paper bomb tagged onto it. 

The explosion is like a furnace against her face.

He appears next to her scowling.

(Four.)

She'll break every bone in her body to kill him. She'll fight for an eternity just to take one of his eyes.

His sword cuts across her chest and she stumbles backward, grunting. She grabs the blade as its moving away. It cuts painfully into her skin but she determinedly ignores it. She pours chakra into it and flames dance along its edges. He glares at her, refusing to let go despite the burning. She kicks him in the stomach and he falls backward. She grabs the hilt of the sword, swinging down at him. He knocks it from her hands.

She grabs his arm and snaps the bones. He hisses, kicking at her. She sneers, exposing her bloody teeth. "Can't weave signs."

He charges. She breaks his second arm. He rematerializes next to her.

(Three.)

She tackles him before he can move. They roll around on the ground, struggling. Her blood splutters onto his face. She smashes their foreheads together. He kicks her to the side and she rolls in the dust. He draws his sword and moves to plunge it into her chest. She dives out of the way, kicking at his feet. She knocks the back of his knees and he crumbles to the ground. He punches her in the face. She spits blood onto her feet and hits right back.

She thinks of her mother, her father, her sensei, and her friend. Their deaths were unfair and tragedies. They hadn't gotten to live the life they deserved. It had been stolen from them by this man.

It all ends here.

She grabs his shoulders, funneling her chakra into him then changing its form in a heartbeat. He screams, shouting, as he is engulfed in flames. She stumbles away from him, burns covering his hands and wrists. His skin turns black like ash and melts like candle waxes. The flames vanish and so does he. He resurfaces in the same spot.

(Two.)

She's almost out of chakra.

He swings at her, she ducks. He knocks her from the feet. She reaches for his sword. Its engulfed in lightning. She brings it down on his neck. His head falls clean off his spine.

(One.)

She directs a shower of ninja weapons at him. He doesn't dodge all of them. They plunge into his shoulders and arms and legs. She surges forward, ripping a kunai from his elbow. Her aching hands fumble to find the beating of his chest. She plunges it straight through his heart.

(Zero.)

He aims a desperate punch at her ribs. She dodges. He stumbles. She kicks him in the knees. He falls. She tackles him.

"I must survive," he gasps, weakly, "for the sake of the ninja world."

Her hands are shaking. "After everything you've done," she hisses, grasping at his neck, "don't you dare speak to me about peace!"

She punches him in the face. His blood spatters across her face. She's gasping as she punches him again. Her limp arm rips off the cloth covering his eye. Her body pins him down to the ground. Her nails claw at his eye, Shisui's eye.

"You," she hisses, "don't deserve this eye."

She rips it from its eye socket. He screams. Hot blood pours from his eye to the burns on her hands. He reaches for it. She crushes it into the dirt.

"You," he gurgles, "fool!"

Now.

Now!

She looks up at the Hokage rock looming above them. His stone face looks down upon them.

She grabs his collar, pulling him to his feet. She pours the remnants of her chakra into her hands. She swings them around, around, around. And let's ago. He flies with unheard strength into his own carved face. Boulders shoot from every direction. Dust fills the air and the wind. His body goes limp.

The last of his stone face collapses. She feels his chakra flicker from life. She doesn't have to check to know.

She stumbles away, grasping at her wounds. She can't believe it's over.

She can't believe it's over.

She's slipping in and out of consciousness as she tries to maneuver around. The village is in ruins. Wreckage and bodies liter the streets. The streets turn red with their blood.

She can see Konan now. Her back is turned to her, eyes concentrated on a battle in the enormous hole in the village.

They can rest now.

Her family can rest now.

"Konan," she gasps out, stumbling. She turns suddenly, catching her with ease. She guides her to a large boulder to sit upon. Sakura's body turns to jelly. 

She twists slightly, struggling to see the battle through the dust. She sees the Pains. She sees Ino and Hinata. Ino is on the ground, black poles protruding painful from her body. Odd orange marks surround her eyes. Hinata is standing defensively in front of her, fists enclosed in bright blue lions. The diamond on her head is gone, replaced by twisting, think black lines that cover her skin.

They're going to die.

She must have almost fallen off the boulder because Konan moves forward to catch her. "You need medical attention."

She nods her head dizzily in agreement. "He's dead," she says, quietly, happily. "He's dead."

It's over.

It's over.

"Good," Konan presses her palm to her forehead. " _Rest_."

She closes her eyes and smiles.

Over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love hearing your guys’ responses !! they make me smile so much :) Danzo is dead but the story is far from finished i hope nothing seemed to weird this chapter i’ll answer any questions as usual i hope you enjoyed !!


	8. eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura tuns on Madara.

It is not over.

The war rages on. Life moves forward. Suddenly, there is no need for her to continue on, but the world does not bend at her will. So, she sits in her room, stuck in the past, wondering just how to move forward.

It's strange, really. Disheartening. She had been able to push ahead for so long because she had her burden, this near impossible goal to complete. And now it's no longer there. She's completed it. Fulfilled her purpose. She did it.

She really did it.

And she hadn't thought for a second she would survive their final encounter.

But now, Danzo is dead and there is nothing else that needs to be done. There is no validation to her existence, no one who needs her or wants her.

Haku had once told her long ago, a life time ago, that shinobi needed purposes. They were tools for others and themselves to use. He had thrown himself in front of Kakashi's Chidori because he was a broken tool. But Sakura was not broken, she had won and lived to tell the tale. Her family could rest easy now. Sasuke and his clan had been avenged. She had grown strong, much stronger than anyone could have ever imagined what she was capable of. Her purpose was fulfilled.

She could take up missions or mercenary jobs, fight in the war, she supposes. But they have no meaning to her and Sakura is not one to do something without meaning.

And if she does not work, there is no one to fill the space with. Konan and Nagato are not her friends. Yes, they are kind, help her, scold her, but they are comrades far older than her. She is more of a pet they look after by choice. Taka are as good as dead. Karin is if she hadn't gotten medical care soon after. The war will likely take them if it hasn't already.

For the first time in four years, Sakura has no idea what to do with her life.

*

She withdraws the Kyuubi from the baby with the rest of Akatsuki. His insistent cries have long since faded, left with only sad whimpers and shaking. He's an Uzumaki like Nagato, his life force is eminence, even for a young child. She hopes, ridiculously, he won't die. But is he a baby and there is only so much his little body can endure.

Sakura's never felt more like a monster.

*

There is blood. The copper taste is familiar on her tongue. It coats her hands in a thick, gooey mess. The smell is atrocious, stings her eyes and nose. Her hands are shaking.

Kakashi is limping towards her. She is crying. His chest is mangled, blood pouring profusely down his body, obscuring his clothing and hands. His gray-white hair is dirty and stained dark red. His headband is missing. His eyes are closed. A scalpel is protruding from one. The other is empty, unseeing.

There is something squishy in her hand. He cannot see, but he inclines his head to her palms. She wants to cry. She opens her fists anyway.

There is an eyeball. His eye. The one she had stolen from him. The one she had used as a bargaining chip for Orochimaru. The one she had disgraced his body for.

The Sharingan stares back at her.

Sakura shrieks, sitting up. The dream is ripped from her eyes in an instant. Her heart is pounding. Her hair and body are drenched in sweat. She is shaking. She can't breathe.

The nightmares have returned without anything to stop them.

She can't breathe.

"Bad dreams?"

The world freezes. Her heart jumps from her chest into her throat. Madara flicks his cloak, emerging, coldly, from the shadows of the room. She can only make out the outline of his silhouette in the darkness of the night. She struggles to regulate her breathing.

She grips the scratchy fabric of her blanket and bares her teeth. "That's none of your business."

He tilts his head. "I'd be more polite, considering how badly you've messed up."

"I didn't mess up anything," she growls, tired. "Danzo is dead, you got the Kyuubi. We both got what we wanted."

"You didn't hold up your end of the deal."

"What deal?" she demands. "We never made a deal!"

"But we did, the day you joined Akatsuki," he says. The candle he stands next to flickers to life with his chakra. "You said you'd take down more than just Danzo but his village too."

(Is he serious?)

She laughs a little weakly, nervously. She can't believe it. Can't believe him. "You're kidding, right? The village was in remains by the time I got there. There was nothing left to destroy!"

"You fool," he drawls, hissing. "Konoha is not its building, it's its people! As long they live, so does their Will of Fire!"

"They're a time bomb waiting to happen! They are weary from two wars!"

"And all you've done is brought the end to one of them!"

She throws the blankets off herself and stands. She is the opposite of intimidating in her old clothing and messy pink hair, but she will not stand for him pinning this on her. She had wanted an end to the Will of Fire, the ideology that had brought the end to the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans. However, this is a line that needs to be drawn.

She no longer needs him. She won't let him push her around any longer.

"No matter what awful shit I've done or the crimes I've committed," she grits her teeth, raising her head. "Senseless slaughter is not something I will stand for!"

Senseless killing had taken her mother and her father. It had taken her teacher and her friend. And she will not be a part of it.

Madara is on her in a blink of an eye. His gloved hand slams her into the wall, pinning her above the floor. The impact vibrating the metal walls violently. She gasps in his grip, kicking and struggling.

"Who do you think you are?" he demands, growling. His singular Sharingan pierces her soul, swirling hypnotically, menacingly. "To protest me, _Uchiha Madara_?"

She opens her mouth to tell him to shut up, but the hand on her throat prevents her so. Her words come out as garbled, harsh coughing.

"You are a child, a foolish one at that. I have entertained you, let you joined Akatsuki, trained you. And all you have done is fail me. Fail to follow orders. Fail to kill civilians. Fail to capture the Hachibi. It is because of you he is the only Tailed Beast missing."

"And not your fault?" she snaps, feigning sympathy. "Big bad Uchiha Madara can't do things for himself, aw." Her eyes harden and she spits. "I'm not your slave. Do your own damn dirty work."

He tightens his grasp on her throat and she chokes harshly. They stare at each other. The light candle flickers menacingly. "Know your place," he says, dropping her to the ground unkindly. She snarls up at him, rubbing her neck angrily. He turns his back to her.

She hates him.

She _hates_ him.

She lunges at him and phases straight through him. She slams into the ground, jarring her chin and bones. She glares up at him. He glares back down, like she is gum stuck to his shoe.

"You've been warned."

She sneers, watching as he disappears in a whirl of air.

She'll get him back for this, even if it costs her her life.

*

She can hear Nagato and Madara arguing, even this far away. Their voices are clear and audible despite the metal walls and the insistent rain against them.

She takes a sip of her tea. "What are they arguing about?" she asks Konan.

The older woman pauses, where she is tending one of the Six Paths of Pain. "Can't say," she admits, tenderly.

"I'm not training under Madara anymore," she mutters, irritated. "I'm not gonna snitch."

Konan is silent, stitching the ripped fabric of the cloak in her hands back into place. For a second, Sakura doesn't think she'll speak to her. "He had a different plan than what Nagato and I agreed to."

"Project Tsukiyomi?"

"So you knew."

"Knew. Didn't care for it."

If Konan doesn't seem convinced, she doesn't say anything. However, if there is one thing she can trust, it is Sakura's unwaveringly persistent spite. She would betray Akatsuki before she betrayed it.

"Nagato wants to eradicate the Hidden Villages and unite them under one by using the Tailed Beasts," she says. "Madara wants to place the world in an illusion and call it peace."

Mercy, actually, if her memory is correct.

She sets her needle down and turns to her finally. "You can no longer play sides when they are best for you, Sakura," she stands. "Which plan are you for?"

(What do you believe in?)

Sakura does not believe in peace, not like Nagato, Konan, and Madara. What she believes in has never mattered, no one has ever cared, at least until now. And she will choose Nagato and Konan a hundred times over Madara.

"I'm with you," she promises, as a horrible feeling of anxiety settles deep in her stomach.

She bows her head a little. "Good."

*

They are standing in the dark in a nation far from rain. Frogs and bugs sing like a chorus in the night. The trees cast forboding shadows across their eyes. The only sources of light are the lit torches in their hands.

Their trip had taken three days under the disguise of a training trip. They're relying on Nagato to keep Madara off their back.

"Sakura," calls Konan. "Start a fire. We need more light."

She nods, searching for spare sticks and branches in the dark.

Konan walks over to an old tree, where there is an old, rusty kunai embedded in the bark. The wood has surrounded it, making it part of itself. She runs her fingers against it and looks to Black Zetsu. "Is this the place?"

He emerges from the tree quietly. "Yes. The grave is shallow, you should not have to dig deep."

She nods, pulling out a summoning scroll. Two shovels appear on the ground with a small poof. She sets the torch down. Sakura kneels to the ground, dumping her pile of wood into a heap on the ground. She sets it a flame with a small katon.

She eyes Zetsu suspiciously. "Why are you helping us?"

He grins, frightening against the switched black and white. "You truly don't understand the scope of this, do you?"

Her eyes narrow. No, she doesn't. No one had told her. "Inform me then."

"Let's just say, us and Tobi have had a dispute in plans," grins White Zetsu jovially, face tilting up in joy.

"I thought you were for the Project Tsukiyomi."

"I am."

Her eyes slit suspiciously at him.

"We can handle it from here," says Konan, flatly, pulling the kunai from the tree.

"I think we will stay a little longer," he smiles.

She turns so they cannot see her expression in the fire light. "Sakura," she calls. The kunoichi joins her, grabbing the extra shovel. They dig in the darkness with Zetsu watching over their shoulders and the crackling of the fire.

An an odd smell begins to emerge from the ground the longer they dig. She hits something hard with a shovel. A skull with black rot around the eyes.

She steps back, whipping her head around to Zetsu. "Who the hell is this?" she demands. There is panic seeping into her voice.

"Uchiha Madara," he says. Her eyes widen. "The _real_ one."

She looks back and forth between the shallow grave and him. Madara is dead. Madara is right here at her feet, dead. If Zetsu is confirming this is him, then the masked man masquerading as him is without a doubt someone else. "How? This body can't be more than twenty years old. Madara died fighting the First Hokage."

White Zetsu 'hn's. "Not quite."

Black Zetsu continues for him. "Madara was severely injured in his fight with Hashirama, but survived and lived many years longer. He lived in isolation, raising and cultivating Tobi to his whim." he clicks his tongue. "However, it seems he has turned against his master's will."

Her head is beginning to spin. "Madara was his master?"

"Yes."

She looks back down to the skull, then to the pile of bones Konan had dug up while they were talking. Her mind is still struggling to to wrap around it. This is Uchiha Madara. This was Uchiha Madara. The God, the World-Destroyer.

Why the hell are they digging him up?

She remembers their journey to the Hidden Leaf and the little blond baby they had returned with.

_No_. Konan wouldn't. She's completely loyal to Nagato. She has no reason to resurrect the real Uchiha Madara. Doing so possesses more threat to them than benefit. But... why?

Sakura is suddenly very fearful of the Akatsuki member watching them like a hawk over her shoulder.

Konan places the remains on an open scroll and they disappear in a puff of smoke. She pockets it into her cloak casually, as if this is a perfectly normal thing to do.

The younger kunoichi wrings her hands. "Why did you lead us here?"

"Surely you understand the term blackmailing," says White Zetsu, smiling like it is a game.

His counterpart explains for him. "A bargaining chip, if you will. Tobi does not want the return of the real Madara. He wants to keep the success of the Tsukiyomi to himself."

Her eyes narrow at him. "So, a common enemy."

"For now," they agree. She sneers.

"Sakura," calls Konan, clipped. She glances at her, cooly as always. "Don't worry about it now. Nagato is waiting for us."

She glares at Zetsu one last time for good measure.

*

Nagato looks down at the scroll with a concern she's rarely seen. Konan sets it on the table between them gently. The tension in the room grows.

"This scroll needs to be destroyed," she speaks, finally. Her purple hair seems black in the dark. "It's too dangerous to exist in this world."

"Not until Tobi knows we have it," he argues. "It's worthless if we don't get what we need from him. Zetsu is also a problem that needs to be dealt with."

"Who's side is he eon?" asks Sakura, arms crossed hotly over her chest. "He's for the Tsukiyomi, isn't he? So why is he helping us, even if Tobi is a common enemy."

"He wanted us to find Madara's remains. He thinks we will be foolish enough to resurrect to him to counter him."

"Tsukiyomi was Madara's plan."

"He doesn't know that we know that."

Sakura throws her head back, glaring up at the metal ceiling. Perhaps she should've wallowed in her own self-pity longer. It would've saved her from this catastrophe.

But she'll live a little while longer just to spite Madara, Tobi, or whoever the hell he decided to be.

Nagato looks to Konan. "We might have to—"

"—No," she says immediately, turning to him. "No."

He is frowning. "He will come for me. If there is no other choice—"

"I will not gamble your life away, Nagato."

"—We are dedicated to creating a better world, Konan, even if that world is without me."

She looks to the ground, clenching and unclenching her fists, silent. Sakura's never seen her furious with him. "The plan means nothing without you."

"It means nothing if men like Madara exist."

They stare each other, challenging stares over whose life is worth more. Konan extends her arms and disappears in a whirl of paper.

*

Sakura sits in the ruins of a town destroyed in the last shinobi world. It is nothing more than rubble, mold, and forgotten bodies. She's on top the last standing igloo-like house, overlooking the wilderness. In the distance, she can see the explosions light up the horizon like little lights, before disappearing once more.

This is the cycle Nagato had talked about. The cycle of hatred. War only breeds more war.

He had been furious with Tobi when he learned he had declared war on the Five Great Nations. And now that his plan depended on the destruction of the world Nagato hoped to liberate, their differences could no longer be ignored.

Their forces are wavering. The Akatsuki has dropped to her, Nagato, Konan, Tobi, and Zetsu. It seems in their conquest to become stronger, their greed has caused only their weakness. Her drive is gone, her will to continue, replaced by an empty and anxious feeling of foreboding. She knows deep in her heart, the worst is yet to come.

Not for the first time, she wishes she had died fighting Danzo.

*

Sakura never dares ask Nagato if he had killed Hinata and Ino.

She doesn't think she can handle the answer.

*

The day comes sooner than any of them could have suspected.

"Back down now," says Tendo Pain, producing the scroll containing Madara's remains, "or suffer the consequences."

"The consequences?" he echoes, almost mockingly. "What threat could that storage scroll possibly possess?"

Yahiko stares back, unwavering. The other Pains hold their places next to him. "The body of the man who you claim to be."

He stills. It is quiet enough to hear a pin drop. "Zetsu," he hisses to himself.

"You will order the war to an end, withdraw the White Zetsu," he continues, "or answer to this man. On a small scale, Rinnegan Rebirth can be used more than once. We both know that."

His visible eye narrows and he glares at the puppet's emotionless expression, then throws his masked head back and laughs. "I know you are not foolish enough to resurrect Uchiha Madara, _Nagato_ ," he smiles. "That is why you are facing me through your six paths rather than yourself."

They are silent.

"Your blackmailing strategy was weak from the start. You are growing desperate, Pain. Fearful of the Tsukuyomi and its prowess," he holds out his fist towards him, then clenches it into a ball. "You have no place in this world, neither does my old master. I will kill you and take your eyes myself!"

*

Nagato's eyes slam open. Konan is on her feet immediately, his name on her tongue. He cuts her off. "The operation must begin now."

She shakes her head. "We haven't used all our cards—"

"—The time is now, Konan. Call Sakura here."

She looks defeated. A piece of her finger peels away like paper from her skin. It folds itself gently into an origami butterfly before darting out the open window.

She shuffles around the room, distraught for once in her life. She presses the needle to the area by his eyes. "I will hold him as long as I can," he promises. She squeezes his hand.

Sakura appears through the window, hair and clothes dripping wet and plastered uncomfortably to her skin. She is panting and her eyes are wide. "What's going—"

"—Pour that clear liquid into those two jars over there," she gestures to the objects on the table. "Now!"

She does, looking between them worriedly as she does so. She's watching as Konan reaches for a scoop-like tool. She can see her arms shaking. Her eyes widen. She's not going to. No, she—

Konan plunges the scoop into Nagato's right eye.

He shouts out in pain. She is crying. Sakura drops one of the bottles in her shock. It shatters into pieces at her feet.

"Sakura!"

She looks away, kneeling down to claw at the glass shards on the ground. They scratch her hands and make them bleed, but she won't look. Can't look. Can't watch her scrape away at the nerves attaching his eyes to his skull. Can't watch her take Kakashi's eyes— _no_ , Nagato's—

She can see her sensei in front of her eyes. The border between reality and past blur together.

"Sakura."

Konan is pressing cloth to Nagato's rapidly bleeding eye. She's staring at her almost desperately, holding something a soft purple in her hands.

Sakura throws up on the floor.

The older kunoichi struggles to move without help. She stretches, depositing the eye into the jar that hadn't been dropped. Her hands are shaking. She reaches for his hand so that he can apply pressure to his eye socket, but he is weak and has little muscle, and so the cloth slips easily from his grasp. She stumbles to grab it.

"He's on his way here."

Sakura is shaking. She feels so pathetic. Her mouth is disgusting and acidic. The rain on her skin has been replaced by terrified sweating.

They're taking Nagato's eyes.

_They're taking Nagato's eyes._

She looks at him for just a second. Is this their only option? Why is he alive for this? Why didn't they kill him first?

(He won't live long after this.)

(Neither will they.)

Shakily, she rises to her feet. She holds the fallen cloth to his face. The blood soaks through the fabric, wetting her hands. It is warm, so warm.

She thinks she's gonna throw up again.

Konan tries her best to take the second eye out as easily as she can. Fear floods her body as she watches. Once the second Rinnegan is out, he'll lose control over the six paths. Madara will be on their door steps in seconds.

Nagato grasps her wrist. She nearly jumps out of her skin in startle. He is sweating, but she's unsure if the shaking belongs to him or her. "Take the Rinnegan as far as you can, as far apart as your legs can carry you— and destroy them."

Her lips move back and forward wordlessly. Would Kakashi have told her the same thing? If he had the chance, would he have had his Sharingan destroyed?

An explosion rocks the whole building. Konan cuts too harshly too quickly. Nagato hisses in pain. Sakura stumbles, shaking. The jar rolls off the side of the table, shattering to the ground.

"No!"

She lunges after it, glass scraping her arms and legs and hands. She grasps onto the Rinnegan. It squishes in her hand.

(Kakashi. Kakashi. _Sasuke_.)

The air in front of the window twists.

She looks to them. There is blood everywhere. Blood on Nagato and the floor beneath him. Blood on Konan's shaking hands and arms. "I'll buy you time."

She does the unthinkable. She tackles Tobi straight through the window. The glass and surrounding wall shatters. He shouts, caught off guard. They grapple, plummeting to the ground rapidly.

She kicks at him, but he catches her by the leg, swinging her into the building. Her back collides with the metal and the Rinnegan falls from her hand. He dives after it.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

He absorbs the jutsu. She grabs the eyes and he lunges towards her. She dodges and he sinks through the metal wall. She leaps back, landing on the building opposite.

He knows how her abilities work, but she knows how his do too.

Shuriken zip past her face.

She just needs him to materialize at the right time to strike.

The building scrapes against her feet as she moves. Her hair and clothes are soaked in water. Her stance is slippery against the rain. In the distance, the dark clouds waver.

"You're out of your league."

That pisses her off. She points to him, clenching her fist. "Keep talking. I'll break that ugly mask clean off your face."

He widens his stance. "Koi!"

They run at each other. Sakura moves to form seals. Madara interrupts them, using them to form his own jutsus. She barely misses the blast of fire hurtling towards her. His Sharingan spins wildly at her.

She swings at him. He phases right through the punch. A kunai slips from his sleeve. He cuts at her and it slices the edge of her cheek.

She slams her fist into the roof. He leaps out of the way of the debris. She grabs chunks of metal and flings it at him with one hand. They smash loudly into the buildings opposite them.

She grits her teeth, looking to where Konan and Nagato are.

(She doesn't know how long she can hold him off.)

She turns on her heels and runs. The metal roofs fly beneath in her in a blur as she jumps from building to building. He is hot on her heels.

(Time. She needs more time.)

He materializes next to her, slamming her off her path. She goes flying, crashing through an abandoned warehouse. He runs to her. She jumps at the last second, clenching her hand. Time slows. She condenses chakra into her fist. "Shannaro!"

She slams her fist into where his back should be. He sinks through the floor and her fist collides into it. The floor shifts and uproots. The building shakes with the force.

He emerges behind her, kicking her to the floor. She collides harshly with the earth beneath her with a grunt. She flings a tagged kunai at him. He turns, absorbing the explosion into his eye.

Her head is spinning. He relies primarily on the use of his Mangekyou, a visual jutsu without an any elemental weaknesses. The only way she'll be able to take him is if he mistakenly absorbs something. And she has one hand available to fight.

She slams her heel into the ground, jumping, and kicking the debris in his path. He leaps over them, barely sparing them a glance.

Panic is beginning to build inside of her stomach. She's not going to be able to hold him off, she's going to die trying.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

She slams her palms into the flooring the best she can. "Dotun: Doryuuheki!"

The fire turns the earth wall red, heating the air around them. Her eyes widen. He emerges next to her, slamming her into her own wall. She grits her teeth, jumping backwards despite the pain. The earth wall disappears. Her shoulder is engrossed in pain. It's been dislocated.

Tobi is on her before she can make a move. He grabs her arm, the one holding onto the Rinnegan, and pulls it behind her back. Her face flushes red. It is humiliating, embarrassing. Not five minutes into this fight and she's all but been immobilized.

He bends her arm harder, harder, and it snaps in his grasp. She cries out, fingers reflexively loosening. The eye drops easily to the ground. "I thought you didn't care about what happens to the world," he says.

She gasps through the pain, eyes watering. She spits at her knees, snarling, twisting her head to see him. "Only if it's you."

He sneers, throwing her to the ground. She hisses painfully, grasping at her broken arm. He grabs her by the back of the neck, squeezing. She shouts, struggling in his hold.

Just a little longer.

Just a little longer.

She pours chakra into her neck, forcing it into fire. He hisses, dropping her, hands smoking as he pulls away. The chakra fades. She kicks her foot into the ground. He phases through the rubble and knocks her in the face. She crumples to the ground.

Then she feels it. Nagato's cool chakra. It emits from the tower, like a wave of water washing over her body. It is there and then it is gone.

Grief pours into her chest, into her ribs, into her shaking hands. She is shouting. Madara, Tobi, is smirking. She doesn't need to see his face to know.

She slams her fist into the warehouse wall. The interior and exterior blows away. Her fingers crack from the force. Rain is pouring onto her face. The waves of the harbor crash noisily into her ears.

He kneels to pick up the Rinnegan. The rest of the warehouse falls away with an explosion. Rain patters onto the flooring, soaking his clothing and mask.

Konan overs above them. The red of her eyes and the tears on her cheeks mix with the rain on her face. Paper flies around her body and peels away from her skin. Giant, white angel wings protrude from her back, flapping like a gentle heartbeat.

Sakura's never seen something so beautiful.

Madara grins up at her, smugly. "He's dead, isn't it?"

She extends her hand, paper swirling hypnotically at her finger tips. "Only from this world," she promises. "Far, far away from the likes of you."

He smiles. Konan attacks. Paper fly at him with the sharpness of knives. He phases through most of them.

Sakura's gaze turns to the fallen Rinnegan. Her dislocated arm is shaking and she can't feel the other. She picks it up tenderly, fingers struggling to grasp. She clutches it to her chest and it is only through will that she is able to hold it.

Konan catches him off guard. He's sent flying over the harbor, splashing into its raging waves. She looks to her, purple hair askew. " _Go_ ," she says.

Sakura stares back, frightened. She feels twelve years old again, on a mission to the Land of Waves, and unable to do anything but watch.

Her voice is rough. "No, he'll—"

"This is not an argument, Sakura," she says, voice hard and unwavering. "We must separate the Rinnegan as far as possible."

She doesn't know what to do. Nagato is dead and _she doesn't know what to do_.

"Now go!"

She stumbles to her fight. The world is beginning to spin. Konan and Madara reengage in their fight. And she does what she does best, she runs.

She can feel the prickles of their chakra against her pounding ahead. The Village Hidden in the Rain falls away. There are trees and they move in blurs underneath her feet. Sweat is pouring down her face. Her clothes are heavy and soaked through. She is cold. She is tired.

She needs to get away. Far, far away. Where Madara can't reach her, where the Rinnegan is safe.

No. She needs to do more. She needs to rest, needs to heal herself. She has to go back and help Konan. No. It'll be too late by then. She'll be dead by the time she returns. She needs— she needs—

She looks down at the eye in her hand. She can no longer feel the texture. She's struggling to hold onto it.

The power of the gods, of the Sage of Six Paths. She can save Konan, kill Madara. She can bring an end to it. She can have the power to bring an end to it.

It'll be a strain on her chakra, on her body. She may not even be compatible with it— but it's worth the chances. If she can— she can—

She runs until she can't see her feet and the world is reduced to green and brown blurs. The border for the Land of Fire passes by. She has long since lost feeling of Konan's chakra and black spots dance in front of her eyes. She stumbles and nearly misses the next landing.

She doesn't notice the other shinobi until they're on her. A kunai implants into her thigh. She falls through the branches and leaves, crashing into the earth below. She cries out painfully, ripping the kunai from its wound. She presses her pounding head into the ground, moaning. She clutches the Rinnegan closer to her.

Move.

_Move._

They inch closer to her. Their chakra lost to her shot senses. The last she sees is the white mask of an Anbu before the world fades into black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve gotten several negative reviews and they kinda make me sad ... but there’s only two or three chapters left so i’m Really trying to finish it :) Sakura’s back in Konoha and i’m really excited to write more fluff and angst with Ino and Hinata . I’ll answer any questions and comments are always appreciated <3


	9. nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning. The philosophy of light and dark.

_Who am I?_

Her eyes are open, but she cannot see. There is metal bounding her hands and a chain clinking methodically between her arms. The bed underneath her is stiff and scratchy, stationary. The room is damp and cold, and the thin cloth of her new clothes are not enough to warm her. There are seals on her body, marking each of her limbs. They disrupt her chakra flow and make her head spin dizzily.

_Who am I?_

She is Haruno Sakura. She is a defectee of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She is a member of Akatsuki— no, she betrayed Akatsuki. She is alive.

Konan and Nagato aren't.

She pulls her knees to her chest the best she can and cries into the wrap around her eyes. She is in prison, far, far away from Ame. No one is going to save her here.

_Why me?_ she asks, tilting her head up to the sky. Why is she always the only one left alive when everyone else has died?

She can hear footsteps echoing across the halls. _Whatever_ , she thinks, slumping against the cold concrete wall. Let Konoha do with her what they want. It doesn't matter anymore.

The door of her cell swings open with a creak. "Get up."

She keeps her feet stubbornly t0 the ground.

They grab her arm and she jerks away harshly, hissing. "Lay a hand on me again and I won't need chakra to claw your eyes out."

Ibiki stares at her, unblinking. _Bastard_ , she thinks, grunting. He'll probably poke at her brain and make her relive everything just to spite her.

"We'll take you to interrogation. If you cooperate, benefits can be arranged for you."

He pulls her to her feet and she makes sure to drag them all the way. He manhandles her particularly rough after turning a sudden corner and Sakura makes sure to tell him just how she feels. Very explicitly.

They ask her simple questions, at first. Her ninja identification number, confirmation of her identity. What year she graduated from the Academy, whose jonin tutelage she had the misfortune of being under. Then they get more complicated. What she did under Orochimaru's care, what he taught her, how and why she killed him. Her time with Akatsuki, information on their leaders and ideologies. Why and how she fled their hide out near consciousness with one Rinnegan in her hand.

She doesn't tell them, of course, but they poke around in her brain and find out anyways. It leaves her violated and feeling like a stranger in her own skin. She tells them more than once where she thinks they should shove her questions.

They're low on forces, she can tell, even with her eyes and chakra bounded. They leave her alone soon enough.

"—sama requests your presence."

She's tired. The seals draining her chakra make her so tired.

They guide her across Konoha, steering her through the beaten buildings and paths. The ground is rough against her feet, rubble and dirt alike. The bustle of city life is dimmed down, almost silent now. The village is abandoned or almost so.

They make their way to a newer building, she can tell. The floor is solid yet creaky under her sandals. It smells like varnish and new furniture.

The fabric around her face is ripped away suddenly, and she jerks back, hissing. She sneers, squinting up at the ceiling as if it had just deeply insulted her.

"Leave her," says the young woman at the desk. She is beautiful without question. Her light blond hair is long and her brown eyes intelligently sharp. A small purple diamond rises from her forehead, much like the one Hinata had.

The room around her is new and barren. Paper piles are strewn messily across the space. The file cabinets shoved in the corner are filled and beaten badly. Old sake bottles and shot cups liter her desk hazardously, yet she doesn't seem even the slightest intoxicated.

"Tsunade-sama," hisses the dark-haired woman standing behind her. She's crossing her books over her chest nervously.

Her head stirs blearily. _Tsunade?_

Something bumps her calf. Sakura jolts, looking down, where a small pink pig is rubbing up against her prison uniform. The pig blinks, looking up at her with large doe eyes. "Ton ton."

She stares back, bewildered.

"TonTon!" cries the dark-haired woman, sweeping down to grab the animal. She nearly drops her books in her haste. "Don't fraternize with the enemy!"

"Ton ton."

Maybe she really is dead. Maybe she's been cursed to a surreal world of dreams for the rest of eternity.

"I'll handle it from here," says the blond, gesturing dismissively to the guards and Ibiki. They bow once, respectively, then disappear out the door, closing it behind them.

_Tsunade_. Her head rings. Tsunade, the last of the once renowned Sannin, the greatest medical-nin to exist, the strongest kunoichi known to man, the legendary sucker.

It's almost hard to wrap her head around.

"So you're the new Hokage," she says, flatly. She's almost disappointed. "I'd never thought they'd have another."

"Yes, we know," she drawls. "You almost made sure of it."

Her lips twitch slightly.

"I'm not the official Hokage, but I am the leader of those of us who are left," she says, flicking open a chunky manilla founder with a bright red-painted nail. Her brown eyes assess her cruelly. "And _you_ , Haruno Sakura, have caused me a lifetime of trouble in one week."

She raises an eyebrow, lazily. "If you're asking for an apology, you're not getting one."

She folds her arms over her very, very large chest. "Wasn't asking for one."

Sakura lays back into her chair, kicking her feet up idly. She presses her hand to her chin, suppressing a smirk. "You don't like me much, do you?"

Tsunade eyes her critically, dropping her arms from around to prop her shoulders on the desk. She folds her hands together in front of her face. "You're reckless. Hurt nearly everyone I know or have a connection to someone who did." Her eyes narrow. Her next words are like a forced confession. "But you killed Danzo. Regardless of your past actions, that makes you a hero to some."

"You disagree," she guesses. She makes no move to disagree. "Why am I alive then?"

By all accounts, Anbu should've taken her out the moment they saw her.

"In any other case, it would warrant a death sentence," she admits. She resigns sorrowfully. "But, desperate times call for desperate measures. Exceptions can be made."

Sakura turns her head down to glower at the floor. She's not a tool, she won't be used by anyone anymore. "And what?" she mocks. "You want me to join you? For a reduced sentence? Don't be ridiculous," she says. "None of us will live long enough to see it."

Her eyes narrow, offended. "You don't think we can stop the Tsukiyomi?"

"You're being generous," she drawls. "He has the power of the Six Paths. He'll kill you like _flies_. What makes you think you stand a chance?"

It is not an insult to her leadership, but to the ability of her soldiers. Tsunade understands it immediately.

She stands. "We are alive. After everything this village has endured, we have stayed _alive_."

Sakura does the same, standing from the chair so quickly she nearly knocks it over. TonTon scurries away from her foot, squeaking. "You couldn't take him with just the Mangekyou. You're fighting a losing war," she says. "One more Tailed Beast left to capture— and _boom_. Game over."

She grounds her teeth. "I won't resign myself or my people so quickly."

" _Your people_?" she mocks. This woman is a legend, but a disgraced one at that. "Were they your people when you left? Traveling the world, drinking booze, and gambling until you couldn't remember left from right? Were they your people then?"

Smoke tendrils seem to blow from her. Any lesser shinobi would have run for the hills. Her assistant seems to be considering it. "Tsunade-sama—"

"—Quiet, Shizune!" she barks, eyes never straying from the pink-haired kunoichi. She points at her crudely, angrily. "And just who the hell do you think you are?"

She slams her hands on to the desk. "Would you like my id number again, Hokage-sama?" she shouts. "If you do survive, nothing will change. Konoha will rebuild. The Shinobi system will remain the same. Another Danzo will rise given time. Nothing will change!"

"Do you think I want that?" she challenges. "Do you think I want another Danzo? No change? This is the reason why we live, _Sakura_ , so we can make that change!"

"Your clock is near zero," she promises. "You're going to _die_."

"Then, help us— dammit!" she yells. "Help us bring an end to the old world and into a new one! Help us kill Madara before all of us are condemned to hell!"

They stare at each other, chests rising and falling rapidly, with wild, big eyes. Tsunade clenches her fist once, then sinks down into her chair.

"Help us," she repeats, tone and voice much softer, "and we'll make it worth your time."

Sakura looks down at her palms. Is she really going to listen to this woman? What has she gotten herself into this time. She sighs, clenching her fist. It's not like she had anything better to do.

"Fine."

*

Konoha is in ruins.

Sakura had known, suspected, that there was little left of the village— but this... this far exceeded her expectations. Huge craters consume parts of the village, whole neighborhoods decimated. Shattered glass and kunai liter the streets, washed the best they could of blood. The rooftops are sunken and broken in, the walls of their buildings burned and broken beyond livable conditions. There are more destroyed homes than still-standing ones.

The remaining villagers are concentrated into camps, separated by either clans or shinobi class. Many of them have already accepted their small tents as permanent homes. There is no one left alive that remembers how to build.

She's assigned to a camp with jonin, most likely assigned to look after her. They barely spare her glance. They have worse things to worry about than her, apparently.

There is nothing about re-assimilating into Konoha that is normal. The whole experience is surreal, like a ridiculous, fever-induced dream that's never known an end.

Gai sensei is the only jonin she recognizes by name. He sits with her at the camp fire and nearly talks her ear off. She let's him because he was Kakashi's friend.

She chews on her food slowly, watching the mesmerizing flicker of the fire light. Gai chats excitedly next to her. She makes occasional noses of agreement or disapproval to encourage him.

_He is going to die,_ she realizes, eyes wide, with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She looks around to the other talking shinobi. _They're all going to die._

It's not a surprise because she _knows_. They stand no chance against Madara. They are a dying army, held together by the shreds of an alliance. But it is the first time she realizes just how truly hopeless it is.

He had the Rinnegan, Zetsu, and more up his sleeve. They were ants to a boot. Sand to the crashing shores. Mortals to a god.

He could move mountains. They could barely fight White Zetsu copies.

She closes her eyes and excuses herself. Gai wishes her good night. She disappears into the folds of her dark green tent.

*

Days past like mirages, blurry in her memory and strange like dreams. She fights, sleeps, and moves like a leaf in the waves. She sees nothing of Ino and Hinata. She half-expects them to appear out of nowhere, pointing and shouting at her. Ino declaring her proud faith to her. They never do.

She goes around the camps looking for their faces amongst the shinobi, still too cowardly to ask anyone out right. When she reunites with them finally, it's no dramatic entrance, no gleaming swords or bright jutsus. She is on her way to see Tsunade, to bother her over something trivial.

But then she pushes open the door and there they are. Tired, wearing shredded uniforms, with dirt in their hair. They are wrecks, they are _there_. They are alive.

Sakura looks like she's seen a ghost.

Ino runs towards her suddenly. Her eyes are glowing excitedly and she's stretching her arms. Her golden hair is like halo around her face. She's going to—

Ino's fist connects squarely with her jaw.

Sakura stumbles backwards, clutching her bruising chin. "Bastard!"she cries out, shouting. Hinata, Tsunade, and Shizune are watching them with gaping mouths. "What the fuck—"

"You!" she points at her, accusingly. "You son of a bitch," she jolts forward, wrapping her arms securely around her. "I missed you so damn much, asshole." She presses her smile into the crook of her neck.

Sakura stands limp in her grasp, startled. There is movement and then Hinata is hugging her too. Their loving aura is so intoxicateding it almost makes her dizzy. The two warm bodies against her are like drugs to her senses.

Hinata's dark hair tickles her arm, her soft face pressed into the fabric of her uniform. "We missed you."

She chokes on her own spit. Ino pats her hard on the back, like burping a baby. She flounders, unable to grasp onto the reality. "What the hell?" she whispers to herself more than anyone else.

"I hate you," Ino grunts but she doesn't mean it.

Her feels like it's made of clouds.

"Eat shit," she smiles.

*

Sakura wants to be angry. She wants to be furious, tear the walls down around her and scream. She doesn't want to forgive so easily, to have to pretend as if she had never left in the first place. She wants Ino to yell at her, cry at her, and demand why she had left at the top of her lungs. She wants to answer her back with the years of anger she has harbored, because she wasn't good enough, because Ino had made her feel like she wasn't.

But Ino doesn't.

She talks to her like nothing has changed, pushes her buttons like she's not a rogue-nin. She orders around shinobi and doesn't treat her any differently. She doesn't think of how Sakura had kidnapped her captain or abandoned her when she had needed her the most.

She does stupid things like this, walking around with her in the old Konoha cemetery, speaking of the past and future like a wash of memories.

Ino grabs her hands and steers her around the graveyard gently. She's half-tempted to rip her hand away and punch her.

She should be furious, angry, hurt. Not this, whatever this is.

In a matter of minutes they're standing in front of a familiar grave. It looks the same as it had weeks ago, just with different flowers and newer gifts.

Ino kneels, placing the bouquet of flowers in her hands gently a top the grave. Sakura looks at her, then at the flowers, then at Sasuke's grave. "You still come here," she says, startled, which she's not sure _why_. Ino's family owns a flower shop, of course she would still bring flowers to their old classmate's grave.

"Of course," she promises, standing. Her short blond hair blows in the wind. Paired with the green Chuunin vest and the dark blue of her uniform, Sakura thinks she looks insultingly gorgeous.

"Why?"

Her confidence wavers slightly. She picks at the remaining flowers in her hand. "He was important to us. You. You came here a lot."

It's true, embarrassingly so. She had visited religiously at times. Ino had had to come to drag her to bed on more than one occasion.

Her head is a little dizzy. "You know how his clan died, right?"

"By Danzo?" she offers and the other nods. "Yeah, wasn't really a surprise. Just... sad."

Silence falls between them. Ino wonders around the cemetery, placing new flowers at each grave she stops by. Sakura follows her with nothing better to do. They walk right past the plots labeled 'Hyuuga'.

She glances at them as they continue to walk. "What? No flowers for them?"

"They're bastards," she argues. "They deserved what they got."

Strangely, she agrees.

She looks up to the Hokage rock looming above them. Four faces watch over them protectively. The remains of the fifth are barely noticeable of the stone.

She smiles.

Her eyes flicker to a familiar grave near the front.

It vanishes.

Ino doesn't miss her gaze. She turns to her, unwavered, and plants her hands on her waist. "Yeah, that was pretty dickish of you."

Sakura stares at her, slack-jawed, before she remembers she's supposed to be insulted. She sneers at her, crossing her arms, and turning away. "I didn't want to do it."

"Right," she drawls. "I'm sure."

"He was a baby."

"Was that the only reason why?"

She turns around to give her a piece of her mind, but Ino is already walking calmly towards the grave. The lack of pushiness catches her off guard.

The blond kunoichi kneels, placing another bouquet gently on the marble. The ground around it has been filled and re-flattened. The only sign of disruption is the distinct lack of grass at its feet.

God, she's going to be sick again.

She places her hands on hip, snidely. "Why do you even come to this grave? You didn't even know him."

She half-hopes Ino will turn around and smack the shit out of her. "He was important to my master."

A terrible cold feeling settles deep into her stomach. "Jiraiya?" she blurts before she realizes her mistake.

Ino blinks up at her. She stares up at her with big eyes, confusedly. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Hinata told me," she lies through her teeth.

(This is not good. This is absolutely not good.)

Ino makes a small noise of acknowledgement before she pushes herself to her feet, dusting off her knees. She stares down at the grave with an odd look. She bumps her in the shoulder playfully and Sakura goes rigid.

"Y'know, Jiraiya was his godfather," she smiles.

She jerks her head. "Huh?"

"Naruto," she points to the old engraving on the stone. "The Fourth's sensei was Jiraiya and he wanted him to be his kid's godfather."

"Oh," she says, quietly. Change the subject. Change the subject! "Naruto's a stupid name."

She looks at her, offended, and she feels an odd sense of satisfaction. "You have a stupid name," she huffs, pouting dramatically. "He was named after Jiraiya."

"Obviously not," she leers, "they have different names."

Ino scowls at her. "Baka, the name's from his first book. The same one Nagato inspired."

_Nagato_. Ino knew Nagato? By name at that?

She platters. "You know Nagato?"

She nods, softly. "I spoke to him and Konan when I was trying to stop their invasion," she explains. "Jiraiya came up."

She twitches, picking at her fingers. Why hadn't they told her that? Konan had never been very talkative, but she would think at least—

She folds her arms over her chest and attempts to change the topic. "Well, that still doesn't explain why you're so obsessed with the damn thing. Even when we were kids, you were interested in it."

She sniffs. "It's just a connection I feel, shut up."

"A connection?" she jeers, but she is smirking, "What's next, psychic?"

"Eat a shit," she tells her.

She laughs, sweet and happy.

She slams her hands over her mouth as soon as the sound leaves her mouth. Ino stares at her with shocked, wide, excited eyes. "You—"

"No," she argues, stubbornly, doing her best to sneer. "No."

Her eyes are glittering. "You-"

"No," she hisses. "You didn't hear anything."

She leans her head back and laughs. The noise sounds like bells and fills the cold cemetery with warmth. She presses her side into her own, still smiling obnoxiously.

"You're the worst."

She never knew Ino of all people could have that shine in her eyes. "I know."

(She can't let her learn about her involvement in Jiraiya's death. She can't. She won't.)

They stand there for a few minutes, comfortably basking in each other's company. Ino, as usual, has to ruin it. "You know," she says, quietly, eyes looking off into the distance. She looks, sad, somber. "You were right."

She presses her head into her's. She doubts it. "How?"

"When you said I didn't understand."

She pulls away from her in an instant, memories flashing before her. "It was four years ago, Ino—" she chokes.

"—I'm saying you were right, forehead. Bask in it."

"I said a lot," she snaps, now growing increasingly agitated. "Right about what?"

Ino crosses her arms over her chest in an imitation of anger, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "When you said I didn't know what it was like to lose my family."

Her throat is closing in on itself.

"I know now nothing I said back then would've brought you back."

"You..." Her hands are shaking.

"I think I understand now."

Sakura's wall breaks. "You," she points at her hissing. "What the hell do you know about me?"

Ino stares at her, caught off-guard. "What?—"

"You lose one damn master and you think you can understand me?" she laughs. "You have no idea what I've been through!"

Her eyebrow twitches. "You think you're the only one who's been through hell and back these past few years?"

"Always the hero," she mocks. "Yamanaka Ino, hero of the Hidden Leaf, legendary kunoichi, great empath—!"

"What the hell is your problem?" she shouts, blue eyes alit angrily. "I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry!"

"Well, I don't need your fucking apologies," she spits. "I don't need anything from you! I don't need your help! I don't need you to save me!" she screams.

Her fists are shaking. "I'm not trying to be your hero!" she shouts. "What the hell are you going on about? What have I ever done to you—"

She cracks her knuckles. Electricity crackles excitedly in the air around her. "Want a list?"

Ino charges. Sakura draws her fist back.

There is a flash of chakra and a blur of long familiar hair. Before she knows it, she's face-down into the grass, arm pinned unkindly to her back. Grass scratches annoyingly on her face. She grunts, irritatedly.

Unfortunately, Ino didn't get the same treatment. She's still standing, looking almost guiltily at the new arrival. "Hinata—"

"Go home."

"Let me talk to her!"

"Not now," she says in that smooth voice. "When things cool down."

They stare at each other for a few long minutes before Ino sighs, picking up her last fallen bouquet, and disappearing into the surrounding wounds. Hinata waits until she is out of sight to release her.

Sakura rolls onto her back, sneering up at her. "What the hell was that for?"

"You two were about to fight in a cemetery," she says, calmly. "Have some respect."

She feels like a child being scolded. She turns her head away, hair shifting. She huffs, "It's not my fault she's a dick."

"And you're an angel?"

She blinks, staring up at her, fist clenching and unclenching in the grass. She hates her, hates _them_. "I don't know you anymore," she hisses. "You used to be nice."

Hinata stares back down at her, unflinching. A second head on her shoulder would've been less disturbing. "You used to think of others besides yourself."

She considers pummeling her to the ground, but her memories of Hinata-past flood her like waves. So she tilts her chin up and glares. "I hate you."

The wind picks up around them. Hinata blinks once, blearily. She says nothing, but she can see it, the shimmer of her saddened eyes.

Panic and memories floods her body.

Hinata with a heart of gold and hair like the midnight. Hinata with cheeks as red as tomatoes, too shy to even ask for a refill of tea.

Sakura stands her ground.

Hinata says nothing.

She turns on her heels and stomps away, making sure to stamp one of Ino's flowers as she goes.

*

She had run because she had no choice, but she had stayed for them alone.

But these kunoichi are not her friends, not even people who used to be her friends. These our children obscured by war and she is no different. Hinata is confident, stronger, but broken and lost. Ino has torn down her barriers and opened her gates, but their loss fills her with weaknesses.

She does not know these people.

This Hinata who pushes when push comes to shove. This Ino who shows her vulnerability as if she hadn't reprimanded Sakura for the same in their youth.

They are reminiscences of their old selves at best, strangers who wear their faces and sing their songs. She has no place with them. She has no place in this shell of Konoha they call the rebellion.

She will take back the Rinnegan, find anyway else to stop Madara.

Alone, once more.

*

It seems no matter how great of a shinobi she becomes, someone always manages to catch her as she leaves.

"Well," she says, the closest thing to a greeting that she's willing to offer. Her pack is slung over her shoulder and she has replaced her uniform with her usual red and purple clothing. "I should've known you'd survive."

Asuma had once said that his intelligence, even that at the age of twelve, rivaled that of a Hokage's

Shikamaru pulls the cigarette from his mouth, sighing deeply. His back pressed against the door of their only storage room protectively. A long scar twists down from his eye across his lip, splitting its coloration. Gray smoke lulls lazily at his face. She swats it away, annoyed.

"Expecting anything different?" he asks, pocketing the cigarette box back into his pocket.

"Not really," she admits. "Let's cut to the chase, Nara. What do you want?"

The dim light of the hallway flickers. He inhales from his cigarette deeply, as if he's truly considering the question. "I don't think what I want matters, to be honest," he yawns. "War time and all." He waves his hand dismissively.

_Ah, yes_ , she thinks, staring at him, lamely. A man of wisdom.

"Want?" he holds it out to her.

She folds her arms over her chest, ignoring the offer. "What are you doing?" she repeats. "Stalling? Waiting for reinforcements?"

He huffs, smoke blowing hazardously from his mouth. "Don't be ridiculous. We don't have reinforcements."

Her eyes flick up and down him amusedly, from the green vest of his Chuunin uniform to the scratched forehead protector. "So the Calvary's already here?"

"Pretty much."

She never understood this guy. Proclaimed genius at the bottom of his class. Intelligence rivaling jonins as an Academy student, who had never done anything with it. Had almost blatantly refused to do so.

"You gonna stop me?"

He shrugs. "Legally, I have to. Tsunade won't be happy if you leave either. She went through a lot of trouble to get you out of it."

"I didn't ask Tsunade for anything," she protests. "She chose to do it on her own accord."

"Ino and Hinata will miss you."

She flinches. "Whatever."

She turns her back to him. She'll find another damn why into the room or wait till he leaves if she has to.

"Running away again?" he drawls.

She bares her teeth, turning to face him once more. She turns a gaze on him that would send lesser men running. He stares back, unflinching. "Got a problem, Nara?" she challenges. "If you do, say it to my face."

"Alright," he shrugs, dropping his cigarette to the ground. He steps on it, twisting the rest of the burning ashes out. "I have a problem with you."

"No shit."

She hates this guy, fucking _hates_ him. She'll wipe that bored expression off his face so hard he won't see it coming.

"All you ever do is run."

Her eyes narrow. "Excuse me?"

His gaze doesn't waver. He kicks the smushed cigarette away with his sandal. "You heard me. Every time times get rough, you leave with your tail between your legs."

_How dare he_. How dare he think he can call her out on what she's done. What she's been through.

She twists her fists, growling. "You think you understand—"

"—Yes." His eyes harden and for once there is something there but aloofness. "You think you're the only one to have lost everything that day?"

His words slam into her forcefully, knocking the wind out of her and widening her eyes. She opens her mouth then closes it. For once, she _remembers_. She remembers who had died alongside her sensei at that execution. It hadn't just been him.

It had been Shikaku and Asuma, his father and sensei.

Their experiences weren't just similar, they were strikingly alike.

"You—" she bites out. "We're different."

"Yeah," he agrees. "We are. I saw my father and sensei die in front of my eyes. Saw my mother being dragged away by Danzo's Root for the last time. Lost the two other men who acted as my uncles since the day I was born. Led my comrades and friends to their deaths because my plans weren't good enough," he exhales and his eyes are so sharp she's not sure if it's him anymore. "And I still never turned my back on the people who still cared about me, so yes, we are different."

She wants to bite at him, rip his neck from his skull, snap his fingers from his wrists. She feels angry, furious, foolish.

"You think going through hell gives you the right to be an asshole to others?" he asks but it is not a question. "You think you can compare your traumas to others and decide whose is worse?"

Shikamaru had lost everything on the same day. Yet, he never had to go through everything she had to find solace. He never had to follow Orochimaru, play and train under him like a dog. He never had to abandon his comrades to the hands of a madman for the sake of humanity.

She closes her eyes. "I don't have to answer to you."

"Technically," he points out, "you do. You're still a genin. I'm your superior officer."

She glowers at him. "Move."

He stares back. "No."

She draw back into a fighting stance. "I'll make you."

"Run away with that eye and it's game over."

"It's been game over for a long time, dumbass," she hisses. He mimics her pose.

"Don't fold until you've played all your cards," he tuts. His shadow jumps out at her. She doesn't react quick enough. It rises from the ground, wrapping around her body.

She bares her teeth, glowering at him. She twists under their binding, but they refuse to move. He's gotten better since she was last here.

"Happy now?" she barks.

"I'm never happy."

"Glorious."

"Don't flee and I'll let you go."

"I won't leave."

"You're lying."

"You didn't say to tell the truth."

He glares at her, stares at her like dirt stuck to his shoes. "I don't know why Tsunade thinks you can save any of us."

"Tsunade—" she freezes. "Wait, what? She thinks—"

He sighs, falling to the ground. He crosses his legs and props his chin up, admiring the shadowy ropes that still bind her. "She thinks you're supposed to be her wild card. Her advantage over Madara."

She twists slightly, considering either running him through with a spear or continue talking. "Why the hell would she?"

He shrugs. "Desperate times," is all he offers.

Their forces our low and she is worth a hundred Chuunin. A highly-skilled kunoichi with valuable information on Akatsuki and Madara, and no guarantee that she wouldn't turn on them either.

"Let go of me," she repeats.

"No."

"I will blast your head off."

"Okay," he agrees. "Those binds are chakra draining. The more you use them, the stronger they become."

"You think I need chakra to fight?" she demands, snarling.

There is always someone in her way. There is always someone in her damn way.

"Everyone exerts chakra while using taijutsu, even if it's just the smallest amount. Chakra is nature's life force. As long as you breathe and move, you'll exert it, even without meaning to."

This is humiliating.

This is so humiliating.

She growls. "I'll kill you."

"You'll have to wait. Madara's claim predates yours," he points out. "You'll have to kill him for that?"

"Is this what this is about?" she snaps. "Ensuring my loyalty to Konoha?"

"I don't care where your loyalties lie," he admits, "as long as you don't take that god forsaken eye with you. It's the only thing keeping Madara at bay."

She rolls her eyes. "Please, he knows you're not going to use it."

He looks at her. "Then he doesn't realize just how desperate we are."

She looks back.

"This isn't a war against nations, it's war against a man who calls himself God," he says. "If he wins, he'll wipe everything out, regardless of who we are."

"Maybe the world should be wiped out," she bites. "What good has it ever brought?"

"What about Ino?"

She looks up, startled. "What?"

"Hinata? Kakashi? Your parents? Were they bad?"

She flounders. "That's not—"

"—Did they deserve to die?"

"—What are you getting at," she snarls.

He pulls a silver lighter from his pocket. He flips it open, clicking and unclicking the sparker. The initials SA are engraved into the side.

_Sarutobi Asuma._

He finally presses down on the button and a small flame flickers to light. "How do you know this lighter is producing light?"

(What the hell?)

"Because I can see it, asshole."

"Yes," he admits. "But how do you know that the light is there? That it even exists at all?"

She glares. "I'm not here for some fun riddles. Just get to the damn point."

He holds the lighter down to the shadows bounding her. Their form wavers and flicker, but their hold remains steady. Its small, bright form contrasts with the black of the shadow binds. "You know light exists because you know darkness also exists," he pulls away. "You know that light exists because of the absence of darkness, that darkness is the absence of light. You would not know light without the dark."

His shadow's hold falls away. It pools at the ground around her feet, before retreating back to his form. She looks up at him. He stands.

He caps the lighter shut. "The world is shitty place, yeah, I'm not gonna deny that— but there are things worth saving in this world. Your favorite dango stand, the sunset you love to watch. No matter how small, that light is worth saving."

She swallows.

"I guess I can't really appeal to you morally," he admits with a shrug. "But at this point, it's all I got to be honest."

Morals. Besides, her hatred all she's had is her morals. Her disapproval in the shinobi system, of sending children to fight the wars of men. Her disgust for useless slaughtering, invoked by falling second hand to Danzo's distinct lack of care for human life. Even if she's done some shitty things in the name of them, they still existed.

He reaches into his pocket, producing a small red scroll. He tosses it to her and she catches it fluidly. "There's the key if you want it," he gestures his head to the door behind them. "It's a seal designed to slow, so it'll take a while to undue."

She looks at him then at the scroll. She scrapes at edge with her nail and peels the paper open. Is this all? Is this all their defenses could offer?

She closes it. "Why are you doing this?"

His back is turned to her. He's already on his way out. "Dunno," he shrugs, waving lazily. "Well, good night."

He disappears behind the corner before she can say anymore. His chakra flickers and then he is gone into the night and she is left alone in the small hallway with the key to her destiny in her hands.

*

Sakura pulls the tent flap open carefully, weary of the volume of her steps. The camp is silent, save for the croaking of the frogs, and the soft crackling of the campfire remains.

She slips into the tent, quietly. Through the darkness, she can make out Ino's form, swaddled in blankets, her chest rising and falling slowly. She stirs slightly, short hair askew. "Who's there?"

Her feet pad softly against the ground. She kicks her sandals off, tossing them somewhere into the tent. "Go back to sleep," she grunts, the silent 'shut up' is loud and clear. She pockets the red scroll into her bag and places it on the ground.

Ino turns slightly, squinting to try see her. She is too tired. Sakura is grateful.

The blond moves to her side, holding the blankets up for her to slip under. "Why do you get a bed topper?" she mutters to herself mostly. She's been resigned to a beaten up sleeping bag.

"I pulled it from the remains of my house," she grumbles, sleepily. Her voice slightly musky. It makes her heart beat a little faster.

"Your breath stinks."

She shuffles under the blankets, nearly hanging off the edge to not be too close. Ino turns to face her. The dark hides most of her beautiful features. Sakura turns her back to her before she can continue that train of thought.

Ino is unwavered. She presses her front to her back, tucking her chin into her neck. The other girl freezes, eyes widening. "Are... are you spooning me?"

She smiles, sleepily. "Mhm."

Her heart is beating so loudly she's afraid she will hear it. Ino can't see the redness of her face, luckily. "Why am I the small spoon?" she demands.

"Because I said so."

"That's not how it works."

Ino throws her arm over her side, her warmth setting her body aflame. She presses her soft lips to the skin of her neck. Her vision dances with sparks. "It's late," she slurs. "Be quiet."

Sakura remains deadly silent, frozen stiff. Her whole being makes her body numb with warmth. Her heart is beating like a drum. Her mind chanting her name _Ino, Ino, Ino._

She feels her fall back asleep, feels the heat of her breath even out against her neck, and the calmly beating heart pressed against her back. She curls her toes, shivering.

Is this what Shikamaru was talking about? Is this worth saving?

Ino smiles into her shirt. Her chest floods with warmth.

_Yes, it is._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really excited to write this chapter but i don’t know about its quality??? Thank you so much for 400 kudos !! Love y’all — Let me know what you think?


	10. ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One step closer. Sakura gains something to fight for.

Sakura drags her fingers through her long pink hair, watching herself through the old, cracked mirror. Her fingers glide smoothly through the well-combed hair, like water through her hands.

She sets the hairbrush down on the counter. Over the years, it had become increasingly unreasonable to keep it so long. It got in the way of being a shinobi and made maneuvering around a handful harder. Yet, she had never cut it. When he was alive, Sasuke had liked it and so had she.

But now Sasuke is dead and he has been for nearly ten years. Now, the world is ending and she is fighting a god with a shuriken and calling it a war.

She bunches her hair in her hand, pulling a kunai from her pocket. She pauses a little, briefly, examining herself once more in the dirty, round mirror.

It's not like she has much to lose, anyways.

The hair falls from her hand, like something less graceful than leaves but more beautiful than fall.

She keeps cutting, trimming it in places it looks uneven. She looks at the mirror, setting the kunai down gently.

Sakura drags her hand through the choppily cut edges of her new hair. It is short, just above her shoulders, a stark contrast in comparison to the long hair she maintained for years. She feels almost nauseated looking at herself.

She looks older, tougher. Maybe less pretty, less dainty-looking, but she is a shinobi. War has no place for beauty.

When Ino first sees her with her new haircut, she accuses her of copying her. Sakura is prepared to beat her for the comment, but then Ino is smiling so wildly, eyes crinkling into crescent moons, and complimenting her with the gentlest voice. And well, if she let's her trim and fix the back of her hair where she can't see, that's her business alone.

*

Sai is passively-aggressively kind to her, looks at her with a fake smiles that pisses her off more than his rude words.

She doesn't like him.

She's assigned to his team, anyways.

*

The world is ending, there is no nice way to put it.

Tsunade's age is beginning to show. She looks sickly, deeply tired. There are thick bags underneath her eyes and mysterious food stains on her clothes. Shizune is standing behind her with a sake glass and cup at the ready.

"Two weeks," she says, holding up two fingers for effect. "Two weeks."

The room full of jonin and personal is eerily silent. Sakura recognizes some of their faces. Kiba's mom, Shino's uncle, Kurenai with a baby strapped to her front.

Tsunade makes a gesture, watching exhaustedly as Shizune pours her a cup of sake. "Our forces are low. The Raikage is threatening to disband our alliance," she lays back into her swivel chair, closing her eyes. She sighs, taking the cup into her hands. She downs it quickly, staring down at its empty contents with dismay.

(There is too much that needs to be changed for it to end here.)

"Regardless of how hopeless it may seem," she sighs. "Surrender is not an option for us. We must work until our very last breath to save the world, our families, and society as we know it."

(They have come too far for it to end here.)

"I want genin working at medical camps and fighting in low-risk areas," she says. "Any civilians willing to help in transportation," she looks to Ino. "I need you as squad head in section B, Yamanaka. Hinata, you'll be her second-in-command."

The medical director steps forward, adjusting her glasses. "I mean no disrespect, Tsunade-sama, but we need Hinata in the medical tents."

She sighs once more, leaning further back, exhausted, "I understand— but she is my only student to have mastered the Strength of a Hundred Seals. If I can place her in the battle field, I have to."

Ino presses her hand to the small of her back. "Are you going to be okay, Hinata?" she asks, far gentler than Sakura has ever had. Hinata does not bother to answer.

"Haruno," Tsunade barks. The pink-haired kunoichi turns to her at the sound of glass slamming onto the table. "Keep them alive."

Their eyes meet. Her's narrow.

" _That's_ an order."

(Sacrifice your own life, if you have to.)

(War has never been kind to those who care.)

"I'll try," is all she can offer.

*

10 days.

*

There is nothing left of the once magnificent Hyuga compound. Its once intricate front gates are melted into goo, shapeless and without form. The walls of its houses are burned down, its ceilings caved in. Its decorative and well-tended plants are brown crisps, overridden by dark greens weeds. Human-shaped holes are visible in the paper wall dividers. Dark brown stains coat the remaining porch so thoroughly, it looks like its original color.

Hinata sits in the dirt courtyard, her legs crossed over a chunk of brick. The lavender of her eyes are empty and unfocused.

The broken porch creeks noisily under her weight and Sakura curses it silently for it. She maneuvers gently, dropping onto the empty spot of concrete next to her. Hinata makes no move to acknowledge her.

She reaches out slowly, brushing their hands together. She doesn't flinch away. She intertwines their fingers, pressing her thumb to the back of her palm.

There is no condolences she can offer. No apologizes that she can give that would ever be enough.

"You know what it's like, right?" Hinata speaks, finally, gently. Her face is an emotionless glaze that sends chills through her spin. "Seeing your world torn apart in front of you. Senseless slaughter of the ones you love."

She has.

But as she's beginning to learn, so have a lot of other people.

She closes her eyes, face scrunching painfully. "I can't— I can't even remember it exactly. It happened so fast..."

Sakura leans into her, pressing their shoulders together. The beating of her heart increases a little faster. "You don't have to tell me about it."

Part of her is astounded at her own kindness, but it has always been hard to be harsh to Hinata.

She hangs her head, looking down at her shaking hands. "I used to be the best medical-nin," she whispers, mournfully, "only Tsunade could beat me— but, but then the massacre happened and, and, my hands won't stop shaking now."

Hinata hands are warm and sweaty against her own. Their tremor is almost painful to feel.

Silence fills the void between them. Sakura strokes the back her palm with an unheard gentleness. She looks at her, curiosity overwhelming. "Did Neji—"

"—Yes." Her face is full of grief. "I always tried extending a hand to him, but he— he tried to kill me. He led a coup and he tried to kill me."

Sakura bites her tongue.

She is far from surprised. Neji had never been kind to her. Why Hinata had been so determined to befriend him, she would never understand. Yet the blatant betrayal hurts nonetheless.

"Do you hate him?" she asks instead.

It's almost a set-up question, to prove just how different she is to the Hinata she had known. The girl she had known could never hate, regardless of how awful the action. Her hurt was too full of love.

"I want to," she admits. A part of her sings happily with success. "I can't," her voice breaks. "He lived his whole life as less than a person. I can't blame him for being angry."

She looks away from her, fondly, a small smile tugging at her lips. Always the emphasizer. Always a gentle soul.

She stares down one of the remaining walls, at the dark brown blood splatters stained into the wood, absentmindedly hoping one was Hiashi.

"Hanabi?"

"She's alive," she promises. "I protected her."

"Your father?"

"Dead."

"Good riddance," she says, deciding to talk rather than to stop herself. Hiashi got everything he deserved and more, and she won't let anyone convince her otherwise. "He was an asshole."

The corners of her lips twitch, surprisingly. "Yeah, he was," she agrees.

"He would've tried to seal you."

"He did," she promises.

She hadn't heard of that one. "When?"

Hinata's eyes shift darkly, darkness consuming them once more. Guilt sinks into Sakura's stomach. It takes her a while to answer.

"The night of the massacre," she confesses. "I refused."

Hiashi, in his old age and quickly losing favor between his clansmen, had decided to hand down the mantel, for good. Not to his eldest daughter, but to his youngest. But doing so would require reassigning his oldest, Hinata, to the Branch House, and placing the Caged Bird seal on her, in turn.

Hinata had done the impossible. It had been decades since a heir had been changed and even longer since they refused it.

It fills her with a sick sense of pride to think about. She had not only stood up to her father, but to her whole clan and their way of life.

But it had also, in a sense, costed them their clan. The Branch had seen the opportunity for overthrow and ceased it with both hands. Only the intervention of the Danzo's Anbu had stopped them.

"It's not your fault," she says, though she knows the words are hopeless.

Hinata twitches her fingers, eyes still closed. "It feels like it," she admits.

Sakura stares at her, methodically rubbing circles into her hand. She smiles a little, because Hinata is a weak spot in her core even now. "I'm really proud of you," she confesses.

She turns her head, downcast. "For causing the death of my people?" she asks, bitterly.

"For standing up to your clan."

"It wasn't me," she denies, quietly. "Tsunade-sama inspired—"

"—But you still did it."

"—I," she flounders, cheeks flushed pink. "Yes."

She grins at her. "I would've loved to see the look on his ugly fucking face when you did it."

Hinata lets out a small, unexpected laugh, like the sound of dancing bells, and Sakura sees stars dance in her eyes at the noise. It's strange, bizarre, really that Hinata of all people would laugh at the joke, but she happily prefers it over her broken tears.

She smiles. "You sound like Ino," she says.

And Sakura curls up her nose in disgust, instinctively. "No, I don't."

"You do," a small, warm smile tugs at her lips. She allows the comment to slip because of it. "She said the same thing."

Sakura blanches.

"You're more similar than you think."

"Don't insult me like that."

Hinata frowns, suddenly. "Do you hate her?"

Sakura blinks, rapidly, caught off guard at the sudden change in mood. "What?— I, no."

Hinata stares at her, flatly.

She scowls. "It's just... _weird_ , okay? She's so open these days," she says it like one would say they found a mouse in their bed. "I mean, she used to step on my foot if I showed too much emotion during a mission."

She rolls her eyes a little at the memory.

The skin around Hinata's eyes crinkles a little as she smiles. "She was just looking out for you."

"I'm sure."

She turns suddenly, placing her head onto her shoulder and her smile into her neck. Her long hair drapes between both of their backs, like a protective fan. She grips her hand tighter.

Sakura shivers, like ice fingers running up and down her spine. Her heart feels like its transferred from her chest to her shoulder. She hopes the other can't hear it.

She feels Hinata's breath even out. Her steady breathing like warm puffs of summer air against her cool skin. She seems to relax into her touch, almost as if forgetting the tragedy where they stand.

"Is it terrifying?" she asks, finally, softly.

She blinks a little, blearily. "Is what terrifying?"

She seems to shrink at just the thought of the word. "Death."

She looks down at their hands, admiring the contrast of their skin tones together. "I don't think so," she admits. "Everything comes to an end."

She smiles. "I suppose so."

*

Hinata is like puddy in her hands.

Her long black hair pools in her hands, swallowing them like the light in the night sky. She grasps at it, combing through it with her fingers, sweetly. She kisses her gently, holds her like she's carrying glass or something much more fragile.

She kisses her desperately, because she is afraid she may never get the chance again.

And yet, there is _something_ missing. She is too still, too quiet, too malleable and breakable.

Sakura is afraid she'll break her.

*

9 days.

*

"I don't want us to die," Ino says, quietly, so out of character for even her new self. She presses her head into Sakura's shoulder, eyes tear-eyed.

Ino is crying.

Oh, god, Ino is _crying_.

Ino never fucking cries.

She wipes her tears away with the pad of her thumbs, quickly. She pauses, looking down at her wide eyes and smudged make-up. She panics, throwing her face away.

"Dick," Ino mutters, smiling slightly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Don't cry," she says, without meaning to allow the panic to slip into her voice. "You never cry."

In fact, Sakura can recall a very many times when she did not cry.

"It's a good time to cry," she grumbles.

"Why?" she demands.

"You're kidding, right?" she looks at her, eyes slitted. "We've got seven days until the full moon— and I'm no closer to finding a solution than I was six months ago!"

"Pull yourself together," she says, lamely, rolling her eyes. "There's nothing you could've done, anyways."

Ino shakes her head, stubbornly. "No. Nagato said— Nagato said I needed to find the answer."

Sakura watches her pace back and forth, growing increasingly irritated. "Answer to what?"

"The cycle of hatred."

"There is no answer," she says. "It's designed to be like that. It's a cycle, it can't be stopped."

"Yes, it can," she protests, pulling at her hair frustratedly. "If I can just find the answer, I can stop Madara. That's why he's doing this, right? Hatred for the world?"

_Always the hero_ , she thinks, both amused and annoyed. Ino had been born with a hero complex larger than her head and shoulder could ever hope to handle.

She props her chin up with her palm, giving her best attempt at aloofness. "If you think Madara will listen to a few nice words, blondie. You're sadly mistaken."

Ino turns around, glaring at her, planting her hands on her hips. "So, what? I'm supposed to just give up?"

She rolls her eyes. _So dramatic_.

She sinks into the grass beneath her, spreading her arms out against it like snow. "We can fight all we want and as desperately as we have to, but at the end of the day, it's hopeless."

Ino glowers at her. "Sorry, but unlike you, I'd like to live a little longer."

Sakura pushes herself into a sitting position, pressing her back into the bark of the tree. "No, thanks. I'd rather not wage wars the rest of my natural life," she closes her eyes.

"No one wants to fight wars forvever," she barks, eyes twitching irritably. She looks about two steps away from hitting her on the head, violently. "Isn't there anything you want to do after the war?"

.... No.

The thought has never even occurred to her.

_After the war._

There is only "during the war" and "before the war". There is no future _after_ the war. There is nothing outside the war.

War is all she has ever known. A life without it is inconceivable. A life without fighting and suffering. Does such a thing even exist?

"No," she mutters, looking anywhere but her.

Because good things are worth fighting for, Shikamaru had taught her that, but what if it's still not enough? What if you still lose at the end of the day?

Ino looks at her, skeptically. "Have you just been waiting to die since the day you were born?" she demands, arms folded over her chest. It's a sarcastic scorn targeted at her attitude, but she's not far off, strangely.

"Yes," she says, because it's not exactly a lie.

Of course she's not going to wait around for someone to kill her, but she is a kunoichi. She has been a kunoichi since the day she could write her own name in childish Hirigana. This is the way that she has lived, trained, and breathed. And she will die eventually, and young, as all shinobi do.

Ino kicks her out of her thoughts, literally, because she's a dick. "I thought Shikamaru talked to you about that."

Sakura grunts, folding her arms above her head, and pretending to sleep. "We agreed there were somethings in the world worth fighting for, not the question of our own mortality."

She glowers at her, stalking over to her space in the grass. Ino drops over her lap, squating over her knees. Their faces are an inch apart.

Sakura's eyes are blown wide. The blond is indifferent.

"Then what the hell are you fighting for?" she demands.

Her eyes drop to her lips despite her best efforts.

She flinches, shoving her hand in front of her face, and pushing them apart. Ino falls into the grass next to her, still glaring.

"None of your business," she sniffs.

"It is."

"Is not."

"Is," she argues. "C'mon, isn't there anything you want to do in the future, forehead?" She leans closer to her face, bright obnoxious grin plastered onto her face.

Sakura turns her head away, cheeks flushed pink. Even if there was anything she'd want to do in the future, it _definitely_ would not include Ino. "Die."

Her smirk is deviously wide, slanted eyes narrowed with mirth. "Want to know what I want to do in the future?"

"No."

She moves onto her knees, leaning closer to her face. Their noses are inches away. She can see the sparkly blue and green specks in her eyes and each individual, golden strand of hair in the sun.

"Are you sure?"

She gulps. "Yes."

Her eyes up turn into happy crescents.

Her voice catches in her throat.

At first she thinks it's an accident, their faces had been so close, it would be so simple for it to happen. But then Ino's lips press into hers, harder, and _oh_ , definitely not an accident.

She kisses back. Her senses turn to warm goo at Ino's will.

When they can no longer breathe, the blond is the first to pull away. Her grin threatens to split her face in half. Her short hair is askew and her eyes are glowing with excitement. "That was one of them."

"Did you just," she pants, at loss for better words, "kiss me because the world is ending?"

She smiles "Did you like it?"

She swallows. "Is this just a physical thing?"

"No."

"Are you messing with me?" she demands. "Because I swear to god, Ino, you better not be messing with me over this."

"I wouldn't lie about this," she promises with so much confidence she is inclined to believe her. There isn't a sign of embarrassment in her happily confident eyes. She moves her face closer. "I like you, like, a lot. It took me a while to get it, but I think I finally do."

She smiles, eyes curving into sweet crescents once more. Her long eye lashes land nicely on her cheeks. Sakura stares at her like she's grown a second head.

Ino... Ino likes her?

Yamanaka _Ino_ , her best friend since she could read. Her rival since she could run. Her crush since she knew what love was. She likes... _her._

Ino tilts her head, raising a questioning and mocking eyebrow. A smirk plays at her lips playfully. "Now, are you done asking me questions, forehead?"

Sakura moves her mouth back and forth worldessly. She kisses her again, a quick pluck of the lips that if she had blinked, she would've be missed.

Ino is grinning at her when she pulls back.

The world is ending, but Ino is grinning at her.

She kisses her back enough for two life times.

*

Hinata is smiling at her. A gentle warmness that pulls her lips and tugs at her eyes. "I'm happy for you two," she says with so much kindness it makes Sakura's chest sink with guilt. 

She clenches her fist to her chest. "Hinata, I—"

Her warmness is unwavering. "She's good for you," she promises. There is no hint of harm in her nature.

"I'm not so sure about that," she confesses.

Hinata laughs, like the singing of soft birds in the morning. Her easy acceptance to them almost hurts. And, fuck, maybe that's okay.

*

It feels like a cruel joke.

She restores her relationship with Hinata, finds something even better with Ino— and the world is ending in seven days. Things are _finally_ going her way and it'll all be gone in less than week.

She doesn't want to lose it, not so soon. She wants Hinata to live. She wants Ino to live. She wants to live with _them_.

The world can't end, Madara can't win.

She won't let him.

*

Six days.

*

Kiba is the one who let's it slip. And by the look on his face afterwards, it was supposed to be stay a secret, from her, specifically. She's running in the direction of Tsunade's office before he can utter another word.

Sai is Anbu.

No, Sai isn't just Anbu. Sai is _Root_.

She kicks the door open, slamming her palms into the front of the desk. "Why didn't you tell me Sai is Foundation?" she demands.

Tsunade blinks a little at her, wearily. The screens around her show that she had just been on a conference call with the other kage. " _Was_ ," she corrects after a long silence.

"You don't stop being Anbu," she argues.

If Kiba of all people knew, then so did she, without a shadow of a doubt. Not only that, but she had actively kept it from her.

Tsunade _knew_.

The remaining Sannin sighs, leaning into her chair. "Fine, yes. He was a Root spy," she confirms, rubbing at her temples with both index fingers, "but he betrayed them to join the revolution when I came to power. He is a loyal member of Team 7 and has been for years."

She can't possibly be this blind, this naive.

One doesn't betray Root, Root betrays _you_.

"Do you have any idea what's at stake here?" she demands. Panic is beginning to surge through her body like blood. Hinata is at stake here. _Ino_ is at stake here. "And you're out here befriending Danzo's lackeys like kindergarten!"

"Sai has continuously proven himself more than worthy of mine and the alliance's trust," her eyes narrow. Sakura would be wise to pick her next words carefully.

She clenches her fists.

This is the evil that Madara had warned of, the replacement that would step into Danzo's place with him gone. What happens if she doesn't destroy Konoha.

His Root will replace him, nothing will change.

"I'm trying to help you, you old hag," she bites out. "You cut off one head, two more take its place. That is Root."

Tsunade's patience is running thin. "Root has been thoroughly exterminated," she snaps, throwing her manilla folder onto the desk, angrily. "Their agents are all dead or awaiting punishment. All influence of theirs has been purged. There is _nothing_ left."

It's not enough, it will never be enough.

_That_ is what she dos not understand. They cannot exist peacefully in a world with Danzo or anyone of his association.

"And where'd you get all that information, huh?" she demands. "Was it from Sai?"

Peace does not exist in a world with men like them.

Tsunade stands, chair squeaking noisily behind her. "Leave me," she orders her, turning her back. Her green jacket swishing angrily behind her. She is done talking.

But Sakura isn't.

"What the hell makes you think he won't turn on us later?" she yells. "He's Root, that's what they do!"

Tsunade's eyes slit, angrily. "The same goes for you."

Sakura stills. "Excuse me?"

She turns to her, pushing her arms onto the table, eyes made of fire. "I said, the same goes for you."

"If I was going to betray you, I would've done it already," she hisses.

"And somehow, that's not reassuring," she drawls.

"I'm trying to help you."

Why won't she listen?

Why won't she _listen_?

"You're out of line, that's what you are. Now, drop it," she barks.

She grits her teeth. "Arrest Sai and I'll let it go."

She glares back. "No."

She stands straighter, the Hokage does the same.

She's trying to save Ino and Hinata, does she not understand that? She's trying to save them!

Orochimaru was right. These people are foolish. Idiotically, optimistically, _foolish_. They will accept anyone into their arms who is willing to fight for them, even her.

But a wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf.

"Tsunade—" she threatens.

"Leave," she snaps. "I don't have time for you and your paranoia."

_Paranoia,_ as if the her world isn’t at stake right now. 

She hisses at her, turns her back and storms out of the room, footsteps slamming angrily against the wooden floor. She rips the door off its hinges on the way out just to piss her off.

If Tsunade is too naive, too blind, too fucking caught up with herself, to handle him she will. She'll save this whole damn world and this miserable alliance single-handedly if she has to.

Sai won't live to the full moon if she has her fucking way.

*

Ino is clutching Mirai to her chest, pressing her lips to her small head full of hair. She is crying.

Hinata is tending to the toddler's meal in Kurenai's kitchen. Her face is sickly pale and the shake in her hands hasn't ceased.

Sakura watches them, nearly sick to her stomach. The warm feeling in her chest looking at Ino tending to the child is ruined by it.

This her godchild, the baby Asuma had entrusted unto her. She has raised her alongside her, poured her heart and soul into a parenting job for someone twice her age.

And Mirai is going to die, unless they fight. Unless they win.

_Four days_ , she thinks.

*

Loving Ino isn't like loving Hinata. Loving Ino is _hard_.

She pushes her buttons, calls her names, and makes her laugh when she doesn't want to. She worms her way into her heart and plants roots that cannot be pulled.

She doesn't put up a fight only to submit like Karin. She doesn't accept only what she offers like Hinata. She takes what Sakura has and demands for _more_.

She wants more from life, demands it so loudly at the top of her lungs, Sakura finds herself wanting the same.

She is the crashing seas onto the shores, the strong winds to a storm, the beating heart in her chest. Hinata may calm her, may soothe her wounds and relax her mind, but Ino makes her feel _alive_.

She pumps the blood in Sakura's veins with her hands and tells her to _live_.

Her touch is rough and demanding, zips her skin with life like lightning in a storm. Sakura pushes and she pushes back, with equal or more force to her own. There is nothing kind about the way they love, they are pushy, but that is their way as it has always been.

She grabs onto her uniform with handfuls, greedily demanding for it to be taken off. Sakura bites down onto her lip, drawing blood between them. Ino shoves her elbow into her chest as an act of vengeance.

Sakura spews across the tent floor, pink hair strewn wildly, and lips a puffy red. Ino hovers above her, panting heavily, eyes alive with something _more_.

She grabs the collar of her shirt and pulls her down, kissing her harshly. Their teeth clatter unkindly, their lips even less. Her heart is beating in her chest like taiko drums in spring.

Sakura wants _more_.

Not just more of Ino, not just more of her. She wants more from life than the life of fighting she has been banished to. She wants more freedom, more happiness. She wants more time.

Ino's skin is rough like her own, covered in cruel scars and old burns. It is marred, but she feels them over like paint on a canvas.

Ino pulls away for breath, grinning down at her with so much love it makes her ache. "I love you," she says, her voice soft and warm like the fall sun. "But you don't have to say it back."

Sakura stares back at her, eyes blown wide, and lips parted. Her arms are shaking and she can feel the world beginning to tilt. _Love, love_ , her mind chants, uselessly.

This can't be it.

_This can't be all the time they have._

Ino stares at her with warm eyes that expect nothing back. It fills her body with warmth and drains the blood in her head. She tilts her head, soft hair shifting, and she smiles.

Sakura is young. Sakura is young and stupid, despite her best efforts, and she is too closed off to offer the words she deserves to hear. She isn't ready yet.

Not yet.

She cranes her head slightly, flinching as she feels a stinging feeling on her neck. She moves to prod at the sensitive spot. Ino takes a minute to admire the darkening splotch against soft pink hair, a wide smirk tugging at her lips.

Sakura stares up at her, scandalously. "Did you... did you just give me a hickey?" she demands.

She grins. "Want another one?"

*

_Sakura doesn't want to die._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing these last few chapters, even though they’ve made me anxious to get right :( luckily, I only had to rewrite this one two times. I really wanted to capture the feeling of hopelessness and despair but also the rays of hope that are beginning to shine. 
> 
> The final chapter might take a little while longer because I really want to be able to get things right :) It’ll be much heavier in tone than this last one, so... enjoy the fluff while it lasts?


	11. eleven.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Face your destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking around for so long! Please enjoy.

"Why won't you use the Rinnegan," she demands. "Why won't you use it?"

Tsunade stares at her, simply, with that impenetrable gaze swayed. "It is out of my jurisdiction."

_Three._

"You're the _Hokage_ ," she hisses, fists clenching around the papers on her desk. They crinkle loudly under her fingertips.

"The Shinobi Alliance made the order."

She chuckles to herself, hopelessly.

They have, possibly, the most powerful weapon known to mankind and they won't use it.

Why.

_Why._

Because the Rinnegan "belongs to no one nation"? Because the idea of stooping down so low to use a dead man's eye as their salvation was too _inconceivable_? When have these people ever cared for the morality of their own actions?

"The Shinobi Alliance is dying," she presses. "We are all dying."

They are dying now. Without the Rinnegan, they are as good as dead.

"Even if the decision wasn't made," says Tsunade, "it would be impossible for it to be used."

(Excuses.)

She has seen it used, not only as a passerby but intimately and at its full potential. Nagato was not a god, regardless of his prowess, but he was pretty damn close.

"You are a _kage_ ," she repeats.

Nagato, a man of a distantly powerful bloodline could wield it, but Tsunade, the granddaughter of the man worshiped as a god to humanity, could not?

"The answer is no," she states. "No exceptions. I will not be handing over the Rinnegan to anyone, even you."

Offense surges through her body and she bites her tongue harshly. "What would be so wrong if I had the Rinnegan?" she demands.

Tsunade closes her eyes, nails rubbing at her temples. "That's not what I said."

_Even you._

"You don't trust me."

She purses her lips, but says nothing more to dissuade her.

Sakura laughs miserably, Shizune looks close to tears. "You will force me into your ranks, let me fight for you and suffer for you, but you will not trust me?"

Tsunade is a silent.

Her hands are shaking. She has never been a woman of reason, had only ever cared for her own. But she has fought in a war she wants nothing of for these people and _they do not trust her_.

But yet they trust Sai,

"If I were to betray you," she hisses, "I would have done it already."

Will Hinata and Ino die because of her own disloyalty?

Tsunade closes her eyes. "I am not having this discussion with you."

"You will."

"Leave," she stands. "I have no time for your childish aggression."

"Childish?" she demands. "Childish? I'm trying to save you people!"

"There are other ways."

"No. There aren't."

_This_ is their last option.

This is their _last_ option.

"It is beyond my control," she says. "Beyond yours. Gain approval from the remaining Kages, then we will speak."

She is a traitor, a defectee, an outcast. They will not help her, Tsunade knows so.

She turns her back. " _Fine_ ," she spits, and goes to find something that is within her control.

*

The remains of the Chidori spark out slowly, crackling softly. His blood is warm against her face, warm against her arm, warm against his lips. Her fist is lodged within the cavity of his chest.

Sai's eyes are wide. His lips are parted, gasping for breath. Dark red blood dribbles down his chin, gushing down his chest.

He looks at her, " _Sakura_."

This is her nindo.

This is what she has to do, in order to protect her family.

He is the evil in this world, the replacement Madara warned of.

No one associated with Danzo can live, even their own.

His body grows limp in her grasp. She lowers him to the ground, ripping her arm from the hole in his chest. Behind them, the near full-moon illuminates the sky.

_Two._

*

Tsunade glares at her, half-lidded, suspicious eyes. "Did you kill him?" she asks, unconcealed as the day she was born. She knows the answer, but does not have the evidence to prove it.

Sakura is silent.

Ino moves in front of her, outstretching her arm. "Sakura is a shinobi of the Leaf," she says. "You have no right to accuse her any differently."

Her eyes narrow. "I have grounds to suspect her as a person of interest in Sai's sudden death."

"He was killed by a White Zetsu," she says. "Don't disrespect his death."

( _Fool_.)

She pushes away from her. "I don't need you to protect me," she says, looking to the Hokage, a sick sense of satisfaction settling in her stomach. "If Tsunade wants to be suspicious of me, she is more than welcome to."

*

Destiny is never far behind, after all.

*

_One._

*

Madara stands before them, white mask and stolen war fan strapped to his back. The Uchiha crest rests proudly between his shoulders and the gravel crunches under his feet. The land is barren and wasted as far as the eye can see.

Even through the mask, she can feel him grinning. "No Rinnegan?" he mocks.

She spits. "Like I need one to defeat you."

(It's a buff they both know well.)

His mismatched eyes glaze over them, from Ino's tall form against hers to Hinata's shorter one behind them. It fills her chest with anger and unease to look at them.

_Nagato's eyes._

Ino cracks her knuckles, grinning up at him, arrogantly. "What, you think you could take us?"

( _Kill them_.)

He twists his war fan. "I've taken down nations in a day. You," he gestures to her, "are just a child. The most dangerous of you is that fool behind you."

Bee points at him, accusingly. "Bakayaro, konoyaro! Who are you callin' a fool, y'know?"

(They're going to die.)

(They're going to die because Tsunade's best shinobi are a bunch of _idiots_.)

Sakura wants to cry.

Madara shoots forward. Tentacles emerging from Bee's back, lunging at him. They phase through him uselessly, crashing into the ground.

He swings his war fan down, Bee blocks it. Sakura leaps, bringing her foot down on him. She phases straight through and he sinks through the rock beneath with ease.

Hinata runs forward, Byakugan blinking into existence. She slams her palm into a space of blank air. Madara flies backwards, turning intangible before crashing into the ravaged hills.

Sakura gawks. Had she seen the space where he would mataerialize before he did?

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

She slams her hands onto the ground. "Doton: Doryuuheki!"

She fuses more chakra into the jutsu, forcing the wall to stay up despite the giant fireball. The mud begins to melt, bubbling and popping excitedly. She rips backwards, flinching, before one can hit her in the face.

"Hold him still so I can get a clear shot!" Ino shouts.

Tentacles shoot out at him, crashing to the ground with such force the ground rattles.

She forms quickly, well-practiced seals: "Ninja Art: Mind Destruction Jutsu!"

He sinks into the ground at just his knees, the jutsu zips over his head. Ino growls.

"Ninjutsu of that level won't work on me," he remarks. "I thought you would all put up a better fight, all things considered. I had even considered animating the Deva Paths."

Ino shouts at him, pointing accusingly. "Teme! Are you underestimating us?"

"Hardly," he drawls.

"Hinata!" she barks, plopping onto the ground and crossing her legs together. "Cover me!"

She closes her eyes and begins to meditate.

(Sometimes being right hurts.)

Sakura grits her teeth, watching as Hinata takes her spot protectively in front of Ino. She turns back to Madara. "He has to materialize to hit us," she says.

"Hit him then," Hinata agrees.

He almost seems to roll his eyes behind his mask. A sick feeling sinks into the depths of her stomach at the sight.

After all this time, after all that's happened, he's still.... _toying_ with them. With her.

That is what they amount to him.

(Ants to a boot. Wind to a mountain. Mortals to a _god_.)

Ino stands. Her eyes are yellow and slitted, orange eyeliner decorating them. She cracks her knuckles, "Are we done talking?"

He tilts his head, admiring the sudden change of chakra around her. "Sennin mode...." he muses, "To think you mastered the ability your master failed to perfect... So, this is what you used to fight Nagato," he cocks an eyebrow. "If you could not defeat him, what thinks you stand a chance against me?"

She grounds her teeth. "Konoyaro!" she shouts, "I'll rip that mask off your face and learn who you are, that's how!"

Her fight with Pain is a sour topic, they all know. Her and Hinata had lived by the skin of their necks, by Nagato's graciousness more than anything.

Sakura cracks her knuckles, glaring at him, ignoring the feeling of desperation clawing in her chest. "That's reserved for me, blondie."

He tilts his head, smiling beneath the mask. The familiar swirling pattern of his Mangekyou Sharingan stares back at them. Mirth is filled in his voice. "If you all believe that knowing my identity will grant you even a sliver of a chance against me, you are all more foolish than I thought," he spreads his arms. "I am _no one_. I am nothing. I am a vessel, an execution program to deliver the Infinite Tsukiyomi, nothing more. Who I am— _who I was_ — won't help you to stop me."

(Nothing can change this outcome.)

She clenches her fist. "You think, you think, you can do all this— cause all this pain and say who you are doesn't matter?" she points at him. "I'll break that damn mask off with my last breath if I have to!"

He smiles. "Very well. Would you like a hint then?"

She growls.

The air around him swirls. Kunai shoot out from inside. They block and dodge them easily. He leaps, she does the same. She phases straight through him. The ground shatters underneath her as she lands.

Hinata's eyes crinkle. Twin blue lion heads burst to life in the palms of her hands. One shoots out at him. It disappears into a swirl of air.

Her eyes widen. "That jutsu..."

Ino looks at her, eyes equally wide. "Do you think...?"

Sakura looks between them, grounding her teeth. They're wasting time.

They're all wasting _time_.

"Sakura!" Ino calls, already forming the signs. "Sage Art: Gamayudan!"

Streams of oil spit out from her mouth. Sakura responds immediately. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A giant mass of fire hurtles towards Madara rapidly, but disappears with a swirl of his eye. (She half-wonders what tricks Jiraiya had to pull to get Ino to spit oil.)

Another portal and the gigantic fire ball remerges, hurtling rapidly towards them. They scatter.

Gravel scrapes against her sandals as she dodges behind a large piece of debris. She presses her back to it, waiting for the jutsu to disperse. She can hear Ino call on a water jutsu to put it out. Her face looks oddly pale. Hinata looks none the better.

"You're not suddenly gaining cold feet, are you," she hisses at her.

The blond splutters, angrily, gesturing between her and Madara. She looks at her like she's grown a second head. (She hardly considers space time ninjutsu worth that much shock). "You— You saw it!"

She looks at her, lamely. "Saw what."

"Kamui!"

The feeling of desperation claws higher up her throat.

(Kakashi.)

"It's a Mangekyou ability," she rolls her eyes.

"Oh!" she yells, annoyed, planting her hands on her hips. "So, I suppose its pattern doesn't mean anything either?"

"Yes!"

She grabs her shoulders, roughly. Sakura is tempted to drive a kunai through her forehead. "Mangekyou abilities are unique to the person, Sakura!" she shouts.

No.

No, they aren't. She refuses to believe it.

Kamui and its pattern is a standard Mangekyou ability, just like the three tomoe. Just like the red and black of its eye. She's spent years with Madara, served and trained under his tutelage. Had known Kakashi almost as well as her own parents.

She would know if they were connected. She would _know_.

She can feel her hands shaking involuntarily. But if Ino is right, if Mangekyou pattern and abilities varied on the person, if Madara and Kakashi shared the same Kamui—

"Who are you?!" she demands, shouting.

(Madara asking her what she did with Kakashi's eye.)

(Kakashi mentioning his best friend was an Uchiha.)

(The name carved in stone on the memorial he stared at for hours.)

"Obito," it leaves her mouth in a strangled gasp.

He seems surprised at the recognition. She barely remembers the name herself. It had been a long, long time ago. Kakashi had never mentioned his name to them. They had to search for it on the memorial themselves. Overly curious, snoopy twelve-year olds with too much time on their hands.

Ino looks near tears. She seems to recognize the name too. She grabs onto Hinata's shoulders, laughing. She seems torn between kissing her and squealing with glee. "We know who he is!" she cries, "We know who he is!"

"I'm impressed," Obito admits. "Kakashi remembered me, after all."

"You were his best friend," she clenches her fists. Kakashi never spoke of him directly, only pieces that they thought were him. But she remembers his grief, his persistent presence at the Kannabi bridge memorial, well-disguised under a mask and years of practice.

"I don't care," he says. "He failed me."

"Damn you!" she screams, launching at him. Her own speed amazes her.

She will not let her sensei be insulted, not by a man too cowardly to seek him!

He never sees it coming. Her fist connects with his mask, expelling raw and powerful chakra. It cracks. He flies backwards, crashing into the ground. Shards of his broken mask falling to the ground.

She knows his name, but does not recognize the face beneath it— (and it means absolutely nothing.)

He wipes his mouth, glaring up at her as he stands. The left side of his face is distorted and wrinkled with odd scars. An awful grin pulls at his lips and she's never wanted to kill someone more. "You know, Sakura," he speaks, and his voice is so much different from before, "that jutsu represents your greatest weakness."

She curls her fingers. "What the hell are you talking about?"

(Toys. She is a _toy_.)

He smiles, relishing the grief his words and presence cause her. She wants him _gone_. "It's a jutsu that coves your cowardness."

She shouts, launching at him. She will not be degaraded by this man. She will not let another person call her a coward for circumstances that they do not understand!

Her knuckles slam into the dirt and the ground roars beneath her. She stands back up, exhaling heavily. "What the hell," she shouts, "do you know about my life?!"

Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, Tsunade.

They know nothing.

_They know nothing!_

"I know your life has been haunted by the failures of your youth," he speaks, voice soothing and empty of mocking. "I know Danzo stole all that you cared for." he spreads his arms, looking to the rest of them. "The shinobi system stole each of your families from you, yet I am the enemy?"

She works her jaw back and forth. Ino seems ready to aim a kunai through his brains. "You—"

"I want the same as you," he says. "A new world, eradicated of the old systems that have doomed our world. Peace cannot exist, not as long as our shinobi system still exists."

Hinata speaks softly, so cooly she's almost caught off guard. "What you speak of is a lie, a genjutsu, a false world. You would erase the real memories of your comrades for fake ones?"

"Memories are painful," he says. "If you have not realized that yet, perhaps you have not suffered enough. Reality is a curse. You are foolish to believe there is anything better that lies in your future."

"If I'm foolish for wanting happiness from what remains," Ino shouts, "then I'll be a fool all my life!"

He looks to her. "Sakura, you know what I'm speaking of. Despite not being one, you carry the Uchiha clan's curse of hatred. That is why I chose you. Your pain gives way to power. You and I know well, Danzo is the result of this broken system, created by Hashirama, solidified by his brother. Unless drastic actions are taken, nothing will change."

Her hands are shaking, grinding her teeth. "How would that work?" she demands. "The Tsukiyomi. There are too many contradictions for one world."

"Sakura!" Ino cries.

"Multiple, individual genjutsus," he explains. "It would adjust to each person's wish. Full worlds, relationships, people. You would not remember the burdens of this life. You would simply cease to exist. There would be no pain, no tragedy of death, like slipping into a dream."

A dream, like having the childhood she never got to have.

A dream, like bringing back the dead.

"Sakura," Hinata whispers, softly. Her hands are on her shoulders, pressing into her dirtied uniform gently.

She grits her teeth and steadies her will, pushing her away. She looks up at him. "I won't give up my memories, even if they're painful ones. They are mine and they happened, and nothing can change that."

(She would give anything to erase the past.)

"Heroic," he comments, irritation flickering through his face. "But I've had enough."

He slams his palm into the ground.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Her hair wipes around her face, blinding. Hinata crashes into her and Ino, flying them backwards. Bee reaches out a tentacle to soften their blow.

Ino wiggles free, golden eyes comically wide. "This chakra..."

The Eight Tails makes a grunt of agreement.

The chakra is oppressive, heavy like the humid blanket of summer. Unsettling like pins on cold skin. The Gedo Statue roars to life, shaking the floor beneath them. With 9 white eyes, a rough earthen shell, and humanoid teeth, it stands taller than even the Tailed Beasts.

"What is that thing," Ino demands, cupping her ears from its awful screaming.

"That," Sakura grounds her teeth, "is the Demonic Gedo Statue."

"It holds the chakras of the other bijuu," rumbles the Eighth Tailed Beast. "I can feel their chakras within. It is the husk of the Ten Tails, all that remains."

This is the demon that carved their landscapes, their mountains, and their valleys. The creature that reigned doom upon the world, stopped only by the Sage of Six Paths.

A limb appears with a swirl of Obito's eye. It is a tentacle, cut and shredded cruelly. A horrible feeling settles deep into the pit of her stomach.

"Is that....?"echoes Bee.

"Yes," confirms his holder and she flinches heavily at the admission.

It is the arm she had severed off of them in her battle in Kumo. At the time, it had simply been substituted with his real body and she had foolishly turned it into Madara. Though time had revealed it was simply a severed arm, not his true body. Her mistake had caused her to lose his favoritism and his trust.

Oddly, Bee doesn't seem as insulted as she thought he would be.

"I wanted the Gyuuki's full power before I began," he admitted, unhappily, "but this will do."

He tosses it up high. The Gedo swings its head down, snatching it into its jaws.

The effect is immediate.

The statue wails, a horrible, ear-scratching noise like the curling of blood. It clasps its head into its hands, light pouring from its mouth.

"Stop it!" booms the Eight Tails. "Before it transforms!"

They need something big, something unexpected.

Sakura looks to Hinata, holding her arm in front of her, protectively. "Stay back. Ino and I will handle it."

She stares at her, emotionless lavender eyes like the full moon in the night. "Do you take me for some weak women?" she asks. The diamond on her forehead is blooming, spreading black lines across her body and face.

Something like....

They read her mind before she can even finish the thought.

They slam their hands into the dirt in unison. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

The ravaged battle field is engulfed in smoke. Hinata stands tall, like a mountain she had never expected to take shape. Ino is grinning ferally, like a predator waiting to bounce its prey. Competitiveness and violence carved easily into her figure.

The technique their masters had been known for. The shared summoning ninjutsu feared amongst the great nations.

_The deadlock._

Aoda's scales are rough against her sandals and feels his body curl and uncurl like her own heartbeat. "Lord Sakura," he greets, bowing his head despite her being a top of him, "it's been a while."

She inclines her head despite herself. "It's good to see you too."

"Eh?" Ino looks down on the large orange and purple toad she's standing upon. She seems surprised to see him. (Ino would forget she had summoned someone). "Gamakichi?"

The frog exhales, billowing gray smoke from his cigarette, hand curled around a large tanto, grinning. "Touchan was busy. Hope you don't mind."

She laughs. "Of course not."

"It's an honor, Katsuyu-sama," Hinata greets.

The giant slug speaks far too sweetly for someone of its size. "Of course, Hinata-sama."

Sakura's hand twitches impatiently to the knife holster at her thigh, eyes trained on the Gedo in front of them.

"Okay, enough with the introductions," she snaps. Do they not realize what immense danger they are in?

This is the war they had forced her to fight. The cause they had convinced her to believe in. Their futures are at stake. Their world is at stake. And they are greeting like it is a reunion.

Ino punches her knuckles into the palm of her fist. "Alright! Team 7 is back!"

"Oh," Obito smiles, "I thought you didn't do teams anymore, _Sakura_."

She can't recognize them, can barely recognize them. They are dumped at her feet from his eye like dolls, unmoving limp forms. Their faces and bodies are marred beyond recognition. Blood bright hair, a familiar broken sword, a half-transformed limb.

Aoda disappears from her feet in a puff of smoke. She crumples to the ground, world spinning around her as heaves up the remains of her last meal.

The ruined faces of Team Taka stare back at her.

She can feel the world breaking beneath her palms, the grief flooding into her heart like the waves of a tsunami. She is crying, hot and unwanted tears streaming down her face.

She betrayed these people... And yet, and yet....

Yet they are dead anyways.

"They went looking for you," he feigns sorrow. "But they had to be taught a lesson, the harshness of reality."

She reaches out her hand, grasping the smallest of the bodies. She feels the rough teeth mark scars beneath her fingers, cold and lifeless. The purple and black clothes are ripped into shreds like paper. Her face is a bloodied and botched beyond recognition. The only way she recognizes her is by the long, tangled, blood red hair.

_Karin._

Her chest seems to enclose on its self, crushing every breath. Her hands are shaking. Her hands are shaking. _They won't stop shaking._

Is this the cruelty of reality?

Had she not abandoned them, would they have lived? Would they not met such gruesome deaths?

(Is this her fault?)

"I—" she grounds her teeth. The crack of her voice and the shakiness of her body betrays her. All she can feel is _rage_. She looks up at him, anger pulsing through her veins, eyes burning from tears. Her throat raw is like the dessert. "I— I will _kill you_ ," she hisses. "I will rip that Rinnegan from your eye and teach _you_ the meaning of _pain_."

He laughs, short and choppy and humorless. "How? You hardly have the blood for it."

Her eyes narrow.

"All that talk of taking the Rinnegan for yourself was meaningless. It would kill you before it could even be transplanted," he spreads his arms. "Only those of Uchiha or Senju descent could hope to wield such power!— And you... _you are not_."

She screams at him, throwing up rocks that he dodges with ease.

All this time, all this practice, all this dedication, it means nothing.

The power she needs desperately to save the world, but cannot have.

Why?

Because she was not born into a _clan_.

She can hear Hinata and Ino shift, mumbling, but their words are a backdrop against the landscape of her mind.

She has defeated a kage, faced _five_ of them at once and lived to tell the tale— and yet it meant nothing in the face of her heritage.

"Leave her alone!" Ino shouts.

She can not save the world because of her _heritage_.

She stands so fast her knees cracking, whipping over to the face her. "You!" she points at her, scalding. Ino, the best kunoichi of their class. _Ino_ , the heiress of a clan. "Stay out of this!"

The blond steps back suddenly, hurt.

_Good_.

"I was just trying to help you!" she shouts, dropping down from Gamakichi.

"Well, I don't need your help!" she screams, blood roaring in her ears. She's beginning to see double.

What is she doing?

_What is she doing?_

"You're always trying to help! You've always seen me so beneath you!"

She balls her fists. "That's not true!"

"You, Hinata, Kakashi— you were always walking ahead of me! Always leaving me behind! Why?" she demands. "Because I was born a civilian? Because I could never compare to _you_?"

"You know that's a load of bullshit!"she snaps and there is that familiar fury back in her voice. "Hinata and I have never thought of you of anything less than equals?"

"Equals?" she repeats, laughing, mockingly. "You think we are equals?"

"Of course," she steels. "I've never thought of you more than me."

Her eyes slant. "We are far from equals."

"Oh my," whispers Katsuyu.

"Sakura! Ino!" calls the Tailed Beast. "Focus! He's trying to turn us against each other!"

Hinata's looking between them with her hands on her chest and a frightened expression.

Sakura looks to the transforming Gedo fifty feet away, at Obito sitting calmly at its feet.

It doesn't matter anymore.

It never has.

They've been doomed from the start.

They're going to die.

_They're going to die._

"I hate you," she chokes out. This is the shadow she has followed since the day they met. This is the inferiority she has struggled with since she could run. This is the cruel reminder that fate cold not be changed.

She will never be a sufficient shinobi, nothing will change that. Not training under Orochimaru, not joining Akatsuki. At the end of the day it doesn't matter, because it's not her that is needed to save the world but the blood she was not born with.

Ino may not be able to wield the Rinnegan, may not have that legendary blood flowing through her veins, but she will always amount to more. Her life will always mean more to Konoha and the eyes of society.

Ino was born good. Ino was born a genin, as all clan children were. Sakura was not. Sakura was born a forgotten name on a memorial headstone in the village cemetery.

Ino was born a shinobi.

Sakura was born canon fodder.

She lunges, swinging her kunai down. Ino blocks it with her own. "What the hell are you doing?!" she demands. "I'm not the enemy!"

She swipes at her. "I don't care!"

(They've already lost.)

Hinata is in between them in seconds, Katsuyu disappearing in a puff of smoke.. "Okay, break it up—"

She knocks her out of her way, kicking her into the ground.

Ino reacts quickly, "Hinata!"

She smashes her toes into the curve of her jaw, flying her across the field. She jumps, narrowly avoiding a blast of fire. She wipes her mouth, glaring up at the pink-haired kunoichi.

She looks to the others. "I'll handle this!"

Hinata opens her mouth to argue, "But—!"

She's turned her back, running, before she can finish. Sakura chases after her, closing in on her tale. She pauses to up root and throw a broken tree. "Face me you, coward!"

Ino is fast, much faster than she remembers.

But so is she.

Branches snap from the force when she leaps off.

She leads her farther and farther away, until the form of the Gedo statue is no longer visible and the trees grow green with life. The sun begins to set behind them.

She feels like a compass out of a control, the sea in the eye of the hurricane. Her body is moving on its own and her mind is screaming ravenous violent thoughts. All she can process is hurt, hurt, _hurt_.

Teach others the pain they have inflected on her.

With the minutes she has left, at the very least.

She is running on instinct and guts alone.

Ino stops suddenly, the roaring of a waterfall not far ahead. "What is wrong with you?" she demands, "The Ten Tails—"

She slams into her forcefully, knocking them both off the trees, crashing down the cliff. Ino slams her elbow into her face, pushing her away to grab onto a ledge. Sakura scowls catching herself through the rock with a kunai.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouts, pretty features lit up angrily. "I'm not the enemy!"

She flings the kunai at her, lunging at the same time. She holds onto her, crashing them both into the river bank.

Of course, she thinks, bitterly, looking up at the looming figures of their forefathers.

The Valley of the End.

What a fitting coincidence.

"Fight me," she demands like they are twelve again.

She kicks her off, raising to her feet. Her teal eyes drill into her and she plants her hands on her hips, firmly. "No."

All this time she's insisted on fighting her, insisted on berating her, but she won't fight her now?

When there will never be another chance?

"You still consider me weak!" she hisses, launching forward, and aiming a punch at her face.

Ino narrowly misses the blow, knocking her arm to the side at the last minute. "No," she barks, clearly frustrated.

She swings her leg up, she blocks it again. "Am I not worth your time?" she hisses. Just the worthless civilian child who could never compare? "Am I not worth your hatred?"

That seems to catch her off guard.

She slams her knuckles into her stomach. Ino flies backwards, tumbling into the river bank. She coughs, spitting up blood. She stands uneasily, stumbling, mud coating her knees and uniform. "I have never hated you," she promises. Her eyes are soft.

Sakura hates that look.

(Sakura hates that look.)

She shouts, slamming her foot into the ground. Ino leaps, dodging the debris.

She has left her, abandoned her, killed her friend, aided in her sensei's death. And she refuses to hate her.

(But she has never known.)

She stops suddenly. Ino pulls back a punch at the last moment so it misses.

She stares at her in the eyes. She is not the hero she thinks she is. She is not the friend she thinks she is. And she will prove it.

"I killed him."

Her eyes widen for the smallest of a second.

"I killed him," she repeats, this time louder.

She won't just beat her.

She'll _break_ her.

She closes her eyes, pained. She already knows who she's talking of. It is hardly a secret.

"Sai was root," she speaks, firmly, emotionless. "He had to die."

She grounds her teeth, body shaking with barely restrained fury. "You—"

"I put a Chidori through his chest," she says, eyes gleaming with a madness not of this world. Ino almost looks sick. "Put lightning through his heart. I felt him die in my arms."

She shouts, smashing into her. They knock into the ground, Ino straddling her lap. She punches her, again, again, and _again_. Sakura laughs, savoring in the pain clouding her brain.

Ino grabs onto her collar, pulling her up. Her eyes are frantic. "What is wrong with you?"

She took one of Ino's precious people.

And she _liked_ it.

"Jiraiya left a message for you."

She pauses mid-punch. Her face is suddenly as pale as a ghost. _Bingo_. "What?"

"On one of his sage toads," she is breathing heavily. "He burned a code into his back with his dying breath."

"How..." her voice is losing its control. "How do you know that?"

Her eyes are gleaming manically as she stares up at her, grinning. " _I entrust the rest to you, Ino_."

She smashes her knuckles into her face and when she drawls back there is blood on her hands. She screams again, drawing back to punch her once more.

Sakura channels electricity into her skin. Ino jolts, freezing. She takes the upper hand, throwing her up and kicking her to the side. She tumbles onto the water's surface, skidding to a halt with chakra through her feet.

"I— I trusted you!" she shouts, furious and hurt.

She stands, wiping the dribbled blood from her nose off, grinning. She shunshins onto the river top, not far from her. She thinks of Nagato. "Do you understand a little of pain now?"

"Suiton: Mizzurapa!"

A spew of water shoots out toward her. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The opposing elements meet with a hiss, dissolving into a thin mist on the river surface.

Ino's eyes are burning with fury. Her eyes are slanted and every piece of her body is a jagged edge. A sick form of satisfaction bubbles within her at her words. " _I'll kill you_!"

The next set of signs she performs are wild and indistinguishable blurs. She runs forward to stop her, electricity lighting in her palm. The chirp, chirp, chirp of the Chidori fills the air.

Water swirls menancingly behind her as she lands on the last seal. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

The dragon roars with a cry that shakes the valley. It lunges at her, crashing into her ribs, plunging her beneath the surface. It pushes her down to the river floor, slamming her into the river mud.

It dissipates. She holds her breath, turning to the large rock next to her. She channels chakra into her arms, ripping it up from the river mood, and flinging it in the direction of Ino's shadow.

She bursts from the river surface just as the boulder slams Ino into the valley wall. She shoves it off the edge of the crater, shielded by her own chakra,

She grounds her teeth, glaring down at her. Her blond hair is askew and her teal eyes appear almost gray with fury. "Do you have any idea what it was like after you left?" she demands, furious. "When Kakashi died? When my father was murdered?"

"We've all lost everything," she spats.

She ignores her, chakra flaring angrily. "Who was the one who stayed when Kakashi died? Who was there when Shikamaru lost his father and sensei and mother? Who led a revolution in your absence? Who comforted and rebuilt Hinata after she watched her family slaughtered in front of her very eyes!" she slams her fist into the rocks. " _I did_!" her voice breaks.

The sky is yellow behind her.

"I held everything together!" she shouts. " _I_ reformed the Leaf! _I_ took the burden of responsibility and never complained! And _you_ —" she points at her, "—You did whatever you wanted. Hurt whoever you wanted. Consequences never mattered to you."

She is like the crashing waves onto the sea shore.

"You left. I _stayed_."

She closes her eyes, clenching her fists. Her blood feels like lava in her veins.

She refuses to be shamed for the choices she made. It is because of those choices she is alive. It is because of those choices she had to endure only one war rather than two.

She will not let anyone tell her she was a coward for leaving.

"You know nothing about me."

Darkness blooms in her eyes. "No," she admits. "Not like I thought I did."

She feels like driving the knife in a little more, so she tilts her head up, grinning. "I thought you believed in the goodness in people these days, Ino."

She jumps down from the hole in the valley wall where she had been thrown, landing softly onto the river surface with a gracefulness only a trained shinobi can attain. She closes her eyes, though she looks pained to do so. The anger in feature seems to melt away. "I meant what I said at the Kage Summit."

_I'll bear the burden of your hatred and die with you!_

"Is it my fault you're like this?"

(Yes.)

( _No_.)

"The path I took has nothing to do with your responsibility," she bites, seething, unsure of the grief stirring in her stomach. "I chose it myself."

"Do you know what Nagato said about you?"

(She doesn't want to know.)

( _She doesn't want to know_.)

Ino stares her in the eye, anyways. "He said you could be dyed any color."

The Valley of the End is suddenly far too silent. The sun sets quickly behind them, a serene and beautiful picture of red and yellows, mirroring the pain in their hearts and the violence in their words.

Sakura sneers, clenching her fists.

"He said you were easily manipulated—"

"—Stop."

"—that you'd do anything as long as you believed you were the one in charge. That you're lost in what even you want—"

"—I want you to shut the hell up!"she roars, pointing up at her with a crooked finger bent from many years of breaking. "You have no right to speak of me or Nagato like that!"

The look in her eyes is unreadable. "Is that all it is, Sakura?"she asks, softly. Suddenly far too close for an enemy. "Are you lost?"

"You know nothing about me," it takes all of her energy to say.

She smiles, emptily, pained. "You're like a broken record."

"Fight me," she demands. "Fight me!"

"I'm not going to fight you," she says. "You're not my enemy."

"But you are mine," she hisses, lunging forward.

They grapple around the water's surface, punching, kicking, and smacking. Ino's body is warm againsts her's, hot like fire, solid like earth. Even bloodied, covered in dirt, she is painfully, unfairly beautiful. She fills her mind to every corner with the shaking chant of her name.

Ino. Ino. _Ino_.

This is her best friend, her greatest rival, her worst enemy.

This is the woman who protected her from bullies, who tucked a flower in her hair and told her she was a bud waiting to bloom.

The silhouette who cursed her to a shadow. The caring hand that reached out when no one else did. The rival who called her names and shamed her progression. The friend who trained with her to make sure she did.

Her only rival, her sworn enemy, her greatest love.

Ino is all of these and more— but Ino will be erased soon.

It is selfish, cruel, and harsh above all else, but she wants every piece of her. Her tears in the shower when she has been broken. Her smile at the smallest of creatures. Her loud snores hopelessly beyond control. Her short blond hair in her hands every morning.

She wants all of her, so she will consume all of her.

So there is nothing left of both of them.

So there is nothing for Obito to steal.

Ino kicks her backwards, flying her across the river bank. She skids across the water surface, coming to an uneven halt.

The Chidori chirps happily in her palm. A ball of swirling blue light and wind blossom in her opponent's hand.

Only _she_ can kill Ino.

There is no other fate.

They launch at each other.

"Ino!"

"Sakura!"

Is this their destiny?

Has this always been their end?

To fail to stop Obito, to fail to prevent the prophesied end of the world? From the day they met, to be each other's doom?

Was there no other way?

There is an explosion of light, the wail of the Ten Tails, and the crumbling of rocks in every direction. And then there is nothing.

*

She can see her mother, Kakashi, and Nagato. Is there rest for people like her?

_I'll see you soon._

*

She can feel the light reflecting off her eyelids, the rough rock against her back, the horrible pain encasing her shoulder and upper arm.

Sakura jolts awake, unable to sit up. She coughs, spitting up blood onto her face. Her body is too heavy to move, her limbs are dead weight. Her head aches, something warm is seeping down her shoulder and chest.

Her arm is missing.

The whole lower half of her left arm is gone.

There is blood pouring out of the stump, coating the ground and her clothes. She can't move her fingers. She can't move her fingers because _they're not there anymore._

"You're finally awake," Ino speaks just as the panic is setting in.

Sakura whips her head towards her and immediately regrets it. Stars dance in front of her eyes.

"Hey, hey, take it easy."

There is a very bloody, very missing part of Ino's right arm.

Her breaths leave her mouth in harsh pants. Her chest is unbearable tight, like a chord wrapped around her lungs. There are tears blurring vision despite her best effort. She doesn't want to cry.

_She doesn't want to die._

"Sakura," Ino calls, reaching out with her remaining hand. She clasps her hand in her own. "Sakura, calm down."

How could she calm down?

The Valley of the End is nothing no more. The statues of their forefathers are blown to pieces. A god-like tree stands out in the distance, its branches reaching up into the heavens, and disappearing into the clouds. The sun is nearly fully-dipped behind the horizon, burning the sky blood red.

"Sakura!"

Her palm lands lightly, sluggishly, on her cheek. Sakura stares at her with shock. Ino cups her cheek, gently, as best she can. "Calm down."

She shakes her head. "I can't, I can't—"

This is the end.

Despite everything, _this is the end_.

"Sakura, it's okay."

She hiccups, barely having the energy for the fury to bubble to life. "It's not okay! Ino, how— how could you even say—"

They're dying and not just because of the impending Tsukiyomi.

Ino looks at her like she's holding the world in her hands. Her eyes are gentle, full of love so encompassing it swallows everything in its path.

It feels like a slap to the face.

"Why?" she demands, voice hoarse and croaky. She furiously blinks away tears, staring up at the red sky. "Why won't you leave me alone?"

She smiles. "Because I love you."

The tears flow freely now and Sakura is unable to stop the sob that racks her chest.

Ino's eyes fly open with panic. "Wait, I— no, don't cry!"she cups her cheek tighter.

Sakura laughs because it is the only thing she can think to do. "I love you," she says and it feels like the world has been lifted off her shoulders. "I love you. I love you _. I love you_."

Her eyes are shimmering. Her bruised lips wobble slightly. "You said it back."

"I'll say it back as many times as you want to hear," she promises. "I love you. _I love you_."

Ino laughs too, a soft, loving noise that fills her head with lullingly warmness. She chokes softly on her own tears. "I love you too."

She smirks, "I know."

She laughs again with relief, shoulders shaking as she does.

She is far from beautiful right now, bruised, muddy, and covered in blood. Sakura thinks she's weirdly gorgeous anyways.

She wish she had this moment forever.

She wish _they_ had this moment forever.

She guides Ino's hand away from her face, shakily, grasping it tightly, intertwining their fingers together.

"I fucked up," she says, and it feels like ripping her heart from her chest. " _I fucked up_."

"I know. I did too.”

"I fucked up," she gasps. "We're gonna die because I— because—"

"Sakura," she whispers, squeezing her hand. "I'd love to hear you say it, but please not now—"

She turns to stare her in the eye, memorizing the flecks of blue and green the best she can with the time she has left. "I'm sorry," she looks to the sky, smiling despite herself. "This is... this is my loss."

"I accept your apology," she laughs, and, "— _bastard_."

There it is.

"Asshole."

She giggles.

There is the crunching of rocks, harsh breathing, and the noise of someone running towards them. Hinata emerges from behind a gigantic chunk of one of the statues. Her clothes are shredded and coated in blood, and she is clutching her arm to her side, but her face instantly melts with relief when she sees them.

She sprints over to them, carefully to not place weight on her right ankle. She collapses to her knees and neither of them are able to catch her. Tears are streaming down her face and she hangs her head so she cannot see. "Oh, thank God," she whimpers and Sakura's chest hurts with guilt. " _Thank God_."

"I'm so glad you're alive," Ino cries and she makes a nod of agreement. "Please— please heal Sakura. We can still—" she falls silent at the look on her face

Hinata shakes her head and they are quiet. She rests her hand gently on her leg. "It's over, Ino," she whispers, softly, looking to the horizon. "I'm sorry."

Sakura strokes the back of her palm, gently, comforting.

Her voice cracks. "Can you— can you heal her, anyways?"

She shakes her head, stubbornly. "No, heal Ino," she looks her into her sad lavender eyes, "please."

"Hina, don't—"

Hinata moves to her side to heal her despite her protests. She has made her choice. Hands glowing a soft, sweet green.

Ino tilts her head back to look at her, pained. Her eyes are glimmering with tears once more. "Why?"

"Baka," it hurts to speak, "I've only bought you five minutes."

This is not a happy story. This is not a happy story, not because the world is a sad place, not because she has experienced the depths of tragedy, but because this is the story she has let herself write, the narrative she has guided. She has dedicated so much of her life to hatred, that it is only now on her death bed she is releasing how futile it had been.

Where have all of her years of obsession brought her?

Right here.

Dying out next to her worst enemy, her best friend, and the love of her life.

"Hinata," Ino says, the last of the son is dipping behind the horizon. "That's enough. You're exhausted."

She shakes her head.

"Hinata."

"I'm really proud of you," the blond smiles. "You're amazing."

She is crying harder, shaking her head.

Sakura's eyes are watery. "You've done good, Hina," she assures.

She is silent.

"I'm sorry."

Hinata breaks down, like a broken dam, the glow of her hands stop. She plants her head onto Ino's chest and _wails_.

"I wish I had a second arm to hug you," Ino admits. "I'm sorry."

She wipes her eyes, "Shut— shut up."

She laughs, laughs despite the fact that she is bleeding out and the sun is setting in front of them. "You're wonderful, smart, and talented," she speaks, eyes sparkling like looking at a beautiful jewl. "You've become so strong over the years. I'm so glad I got to see you grow. I'm so glad I got to know you."

Hinata bows her head again, shoulders shaking violently as she cries. Sakura exhales shakily, pained from both the emotion and the blood loss. She grips Ino's hand a little tighter.

Ino turns her head to look at her, eyes sparkling like the ocean on a summer day. "Of all the things I got to be..."

She closes her eyes. "Stop," she begs. She refuses to believe this is the end. She refuses to believe this is it.

Ino rests her palm against the curve of her cheek and smiles.

"I'm glad I was your friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s a lot I want to say. First off, thank you so much for reading this far and this long. I’ve been writing for years, but this is the first long-term fic I’ve finished and can say truly with my whole chest that I’m proud of. I intended for this to be just a short three to five part chapter, but it insisted on telling a bigger story than the one I set out for it. It started off because I loved the image of Akatsuki!Sakura than it became more. I hated how hero stories were always so black and white and how the main characters were always perfect moral compasses. I wanted to write a morally gray main character who was right and wrong. I wanted a main character who was traumatized and broke because of it, not become stronger. This story and version of Sakura helped me to cope with my own trauma and I hope it helped you a little too.
> 
> Second, I apologize for the sad ending. From the beginning, I intended for them to die with the Infinite Tsukiyomi. Though they are significantly more powerful than their canon counterparts, this Sakura and Ino cannot compare to Obito. Let alone the real Madara, Black Zetsu, and Kaguya. I truly believe that no one else but Naruto and Sasuke could have won that way so I made it so. For a short time I considered changing it, but I felt like a happy ending went against the dark tone. Sometimes you work so hard for that happy ending, but never quite get it. 
> 
> Third, there’s a very important theme that I’m not sure was emphasized enough: traumas can’t be compared. Sakura and the other characters insist on comparing their them and deciding whose is worse and who gets to act out on them and why. Sakura was perfectly valid for leaving the Leaf! It was a toxic environment on the brink of war. Ino was also valid for staying! It was her home and the place of her family. And even if you haven’t fought a war or watched your loved ones die, your trauma is valid. 
> 
> I think I’ve talked enough, oops. Writing this is making me a little emotional. I’m worried about reactions to the ending. I’m really sad this story has come to an end. It means the world to me. Comments are appreciated and I’ll answer any questions! Thank you for everything.


End file.
